STOP ABUSING TOBACCO FARMERS

SMOKE FREE MALAWI

Wednesday, 28th March, 2012

PRESS RELEASE AT THE START OF THE 2012 TOBACCO SEASON

SAVE THE POOR FARMER, CHILD LABOURER-STOP SMOKING TOBACCO

Smokefree Malawi, an advocacy group against smoking and tobacco related challenhes wishes to register its deepest disappointment to the start of the 2012 Tobacco Season, which has again opened with low prices despite the hard work of ordinary Malawians enslaved by the crop in the past four and half decades of independence.

Particularly we wish to bring to the attention of His Excellency the State President Ngwazi Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, the Honourable Members of Parliament, Civil Society and all related groups, that smoking and tobacco production in Malawi continues to increase the burdern of many ordinary Malawians.

We are concerned of the the following key developments in the sector and Governments response towards them, as they continue to impact on ordinary Malawians and send many into poverty.

1. Low Prices at Auction Floors

After low prices at the Auction Floors which has sent thousands of ordinary people into poverty during the 2010/2011 Tobacco season, buyers have resorted to stealing from Malawians yet again by offering prices as low as 0.60 cents for a kilogramme of tobacco at the start of the sale in Lilongwe.

Many farmers have not been able to grow tobacco due to mainly their inability to repay loans of last year and the low yields, with investments of K80,000.00 realising only K30,000.00 in the past season. Other farmers had to repay their loans with their livestock or iron sheets sending them into extreme poverty.

Buyers have an obligation to respond to the market situation and this years initial prices do not reflect the supply and demand side of the crop as very few tobacco is available for the market.

The poor prices need to change now to enable our poor farmers realise their sweat and pain in growing this crop.

2. Tobacco prices over a strong kwacha

While Government continues to hold the Kwacha at its higher value than the real market value, SmokeFree Malawi wishes to bring to the attention of Government that tobacco farmers remain the biggest losers as most sellers of tobacco inputs and materials such as sacks continue to peg their sales on a parallel market value. After selling and earning their tobacco money at a low value, farmers will end up biggest losers, should devaluation still take place later in the year. The most obtaining suggestion is to have a special rate of K210 to a dollar for the tobacco market to minimise the farmers losses later in the year.

3. Health concerns in Tobacco production and selling

Tobacco fumes, from the farms to the Auction Floors are harzadous to human health. Just like smoking is. There have been no masks given to farmers or people working on the floors at the Auction Floors increasing the likelihood of toxic intake for people accessing the Auction Floors. We demand immediate and compusalry provision of nose masks to protect thousands of Malawians that access the tobacco dust and fumes in the industry.

4. New Tobacco Companies

We have noted with great concerns of the continuing road shows and single ciggerate promotions by Cigarrate Manufacturers based in Malawi in violation of the set International standards that marketing and single stick sales are not encouraged as they can easily be accessed by minors.

The same continues in Malawi where at bus stations and other shops, children continue to be used to sale cigarrettes without the law taking its course. We demand an immediate stop to this and ask Government to stop licensing cigarrette manufacturing in the country.

Malawi lacks all the necessary capacity to treat Lung Cancers and the other 60 types of cancers that smoking has been proven to cause. The Country cannot afford to continue putting its young citizenry at risk, as the combined consequences of smoking and drinking of cheap products has already proven to be fatal with recorded deaths of young people exceeding normal levels.

5. Government should live its commitment to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The Government of Malawi in November 2010 made a commitment that it will sign the FCTC and become a party to negotiate better and at the same time start protection of its own citizens from dangerous second hand smoking, which in Malawi is high, as smokers, mostly men smoke anywhere, even in homes where children access the smoke.

SmokeFree Malawi is dismayed by the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture and the Tobacco Control Commission, who are the key stakeholders in moving the process have decided to be quite and drag the process. This is a betrayal to our national integrity and commitment we publicly pronounced. We demand that Government should sign and make all the necessary processes completed by May 30, 2012.

The key stakeholders withholding Malawi's signing of the FCTC are doing so in selfish interest as the Convention provides assistance to country's wishing to diversify, which would suit Malawi Governments strategic plans, to diversify the economy from tobacco. In whose interests are we serving if Malawi cannot sign the FCTC today?

6. National Conference on the Future of Tobacco in Malawi

Tobacco is now a crop past its phase to the economy of Malawi. 2010/2011 season imparted a lesson to all well meaning Malawians, that is usefulness and reliability is over. Tobacco has sent millions of Malawians into poverty, it has caused high cases of health challenges costing the public purse more as healthcare is free, it has affected the future of Children through rampant child labour and more importantly it has denied rights to people working in the farms.

Government for a period of close to 14 years, failed to enact the Tobacco Tenancy Labour bill, mainly due to the influence of the Industry which has never worked in the interest of Malawi.

Smokefree Malawi will soon hold a National Conference on the Future of Tobacco in Malawi, where the Economic, Political, Health and Social consequences of Malawi will be candidly debated and a future designed of a Malawi without tobacco.

Conclusion:

Tobacco has remained and will remain a crop that enslaves Malawians and the hold the country at ransom. The country's potential in other sectors such as Tourism and agro-porcessing, crops such as soya beans, ground nuts and other legumes has been undermined deliberately by some technocrats to continue dependency on tobacco.

Malawi does not need tobacco, and smoking is contributing to morbidity and mortality of its productive age group.

Lets make Malawi a productive and smokefree nation,

Kondwani Bell Munthali

National Coordinator

Smokefree Malawi