In tobacco-growing regions, farmers usually have contracts with tobacco companies. Through these contracts, they are often trapped by the industry, and even indebted to it.

But, in many ways, the system makes it easier for farmers to grow tobacco than to switch to other crops. That is because they don’t have to worry about getting the inputs or technical assistance, and, perhaps most importantly, they have a ready-market for their products.

This is why so many tobacco farmers feel like it’s impossible for them to do anything else. 

But with adequate support, tobacco-growers actually can switch to other activities. 

Our guest:

Dr. Donald Makoka – research fellow in the Centre for Agricultural Research and Development, at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in Malawi.

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Unlocking the Tobacco Supply Chain is a podcast produced by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Knowledge Hub for Articles 17 and 18, which is based in Brazil, in the Center for Studies on Tobacco and Health from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.

The information and views set out on this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (the Protocol), or the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC and its Protocols.