The government of Malawi through the ministry of Agriculture has retaliated on its commitment to support the tobacco industry in the country by ensuring that all stakeholders are compliant with the industry requirements and the use of reliable data.
This was said at the 2023 Tobacco Industry Conference in Lilongwe on Friday which was under the theme ‘Reliable data management; key to tobacco leaf integrity’.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, the Principal Secretary (Technical) in the ministry of Agriculture Dr. Medrina Muloza said government will provide the industry with all the necessary support to ensure tobacco is compliant enough to secure increased demand.
Muloza said apart from creating a conducive legal framework for the industry, government in collaboration with the Tobacco Commission is also consulting stakeholders on how best to mitigate climate change shocks which have lately become a pain in the industry.
“We believe that high quality data management will help all stakeholders not only track and trace our tobacco, but guide minimum performance levels that are expected of our tobacco leaf suppliers in areas such as sustainable agriculture, environmental management and human rights. Ultimately, this will make our tobacco compliant with international standards, thereby making our leaf more attractive to the global demand. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all industry players for their various roles in making the 2022/2023 tobacco farming and marketing season a success. It is in our interest as Government to ensure that our growers reap from their sweat”, she said.
The conference which was organised by the Tobacco Commission attracted various stakeholders from the Commission, buying companies, grower associations among others.
On his side, the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Chidanti Malunga said the conference was organised to shape a new narrative of the industry.
The conference took place in January after it was postponed from December last year.
