UTM president Dalitso Kabambe has claimed that a farmer died on Tuesday at Chinkhoma Auction Floors after realizing that his tobacco fetched very low prices.
On Tuesday, Kabambe made a surprise visit to Floors to “witness the pain of our farmers”.
“I went to stand with those who feed this country’s economy, yet sleep hungry. I met farmers who cannot afford a bicycle, who live in broken homes, who have worked for months only to be handed a pittance for their tobacco. Their cries broke my heart.
“But the tragedy deepened when I was told a story of Lameck, a farmer-already drowning in debt-collapsed and died after realizing that the price offered for his tobacco would not allow him to repay his input loan, nor pay his workers.
“He died, not from disease, but from despair. We lost him. And with him, a piece of our nation’s conscience. This is the real crisis that AHL’s press release failed to address-the collapse of fairness, the erosion of hope, and the suffering of the very people who sustain our economy,” he said in a statement released on Tuesday
Kabambe promised that once voted into power in the forthcoming general election, farmers should expect better gains from their tobacco.
“To our farmers-the soul of our land-I say: you have been abandoned, you have been neglected, but you are not alone.
“I, together with UTM, stand with you. And we will change this broken system. Through bold leadership and targeted investment, we will restore dignity to agriculture. We will ensure access to affordable inputs. We will guarantee fair prices. We will modernize our markets and improve rural livelihoods. You will smile again. You will build your homes. Educate your children.
“Feed your families. That is not just our promise-it is our mission. This moment is bigger than politics. It is about the soul of a nation. A nation where justice must prevail.
