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‘Tobacco has future in Malawi’

Players in the tobacco industry in Malawi say the crop still has a future despite global threats emanating from the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC).

WHO-FCTC wants to ban tobacco growing by 2025 as one way of safeguarding people from contracting cancer.

Alliance One Tobacco (Malawi) Limited country agronomist Ronald Ngwira said on Thursday the WHO-FCTC has for the past 15 years been advocating for the ban of tobacco but the process is still ongoing and should not scare farmers.

“The WHO-FCTC wants to curb production and limit consumption of tobacco but the number of people smoking is on the increase. This means that despite the threats, the country should continue growing the crop,” he said.

Ngwira said the lack of information and proper knowledge can harm tobacco production and the country’s economy.

Tobacco is the country’s number one foreign currency earner wiring in over 60 percent of forex and accounting for 13 percent of the economy.

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