LEAF NEWS

MALAWI

Farmers Fight to Get Back U.S. Market

Abiel Masache Kalima Banda (right) visits a tobacco farmer in southern Malawi.

TAMA Trust

LILONGWE—The embattled Malawian tobacco industry began to take steps over the winter to regain its U.S. burley market.

Tobacco from Malawi, the world’s leading exporter of burley, has been banned from the United States for alleged illegal labor practices. If this ban stays in effect, the result could be significant: Last year, the U.S. imported 6.8 million kilos of burley from Malawi.

A federal commissioner for U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection, Brenda Smith, was invited to Malawi over the winter to review the situation and communicate—if she can—what farmers here can do to lift the proscriptions.

The growers association, meanwhile, has “rebranded” itself in hopes of documenting its commitment to reform. Formerly known as the Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA), the organization is now known as “TAMA Farmers Trust.” The official launch of the rebranding took place on December 19 2019 at its head office in Lilongwe.

Buyers inspect tobacco before a sale in the city of Mzuzu in Malawi.

TAMA Trust

Other aspects of the rebranding have included changes in its corporate portfolio, business orientation, diversity and clientele. The constitution, the logo, and the website have also changed.

Perhaps the biggest change is farmers moved forcefully to diversify the institution into other business ventures besides tobacco.

“We also need to look into the issue of value addition to the non-tobacco crops to maximize revenue and not to end as just primary producers,” the new association said in a statement. “Predictable markets for the non-tobacco crops have been a challenge (to locate). The new TAMA will work with interested institutions, and government to foster structured markets.”

In the new setup, the Organization has the TAMA Farmers Trust as the Apex body with TAMA Agriculture and TAMA Enterprise as the major operational branches.

Under TAMA, there are middle to large scale farmers and Farmer Cooperatives formed through tobacco farmer clubs and those formed through other enterprises such as macadamia, coffee, soybeans, groundnuts, tea, sugarcane, horticultural crops, dairy, poultry.

PORTUGAL

Malawian Leads International Growers Group

CASTELO BRANCO—Ariel Masache Kalmia of Lilongwe, Malawi, has been chosen as the president for 2020 of the International Tobacco Growers Association.

Jorge Aranda of Salta, Argentina, is the vice president, and Benicio A. Werner of Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil, is the treasurer.

The association’s headquarters is in Castelo Branco, Portugal.

UNITED STATES

The Challenges Facing American Tobacco Growers

A season of challenges —About 600 farmers and others heard a frightening speech on their outlook for 2020 delivered by Steve Griffin at the annual meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. in Raleigh, N.C.

Flue-cured grower Steve Griffin, president of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C., gave the following keynote speech at the association’s annual meeting on February 7 in Raleigh, N.C. Griffin farms in Washington, N.C.

The trend in recent years has not been favorable for tobacco. In 2019, the theme for our annual meeting was “Tobacco in Crisis.” The crisis continues into 2020, and it is fair to suggest that we are facing many unprecedented challenges for the new decade.

Today we are increasingly hearing about smoke free, Zero Nicotine, Vape, Heat Not Burn, and other products. Technology is adapting that will discover and deliver new methods for nicotine delivery to adult consumers. Last year we produced the smallest crop in a century. The hurricanes and other weather factor lead to lower yields. But the fact remains it was an unprecedented size crop. The cost of production was also unprecedented, and will be higher this year. It cost more to produce a pound of tobacco in the U.S. than any other time in our history. Labor was the leading cost factor. Most of us utilize the H2A guest worker program, and the wage formula places us at $12 an hour.

Also unprecedented: the weather. Bad weather is a historical constant in our business. But between late September 2018 and early September 2019, our state took direct hits from three major hurricanes. By any standards that’s a lot. It all has an increasingly adverse effect on our ability to be profitable as growers.

Numerous N.C. tobacco farmers took advantage of a training session held in conjunction with the Tobacco Growers Association meeting by Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) Connections. Here a group registers. GAP certification provides information to growers about up-to-date agricultural procedures.

Trade disputes such as the standoff with China are unprecedented as well. The impact on tobacco has been absolute. The recent Phase I agreement offers hope, and we must push hard for positive impacts. China represents a tremendous export growth market. We must do everything possible to restore trade.

We are a shrinking player in an increasingly globalized industry. The number of major cigarette manufacturers can be counted on two hands. Massive taxes, user fees and litigation costs mean that accompanies are very motivated by least cost ingredients, even the most significant one, tobacco leaf itself. Across the globe, we are aware that there is too much tobacco being grown, and worse, it is sold too cheap in many regions.

The procurement cycle in this industry is very frustrating. In less than 30 days, a majority of growers need to begin seeding greenhouses for the new crop. Yet to date, only one tobacco contracting company has executed contracts. A second has at least given the grower base an expectation of volumes and may sign contracts in the near future. But much of the procurement need remains unknown.

The number of family farms exiting the business is alarming. Some [departures are] by choice and some due to circumstances. This trend needs our full attention. I call on the industry to help slow the erosion of demand for U.S. leaf by making a strong commitment to include more of it in the final product while at the same time protecting the price. Our current combination of circumstances may seem unprecedented but our ability to execute real solutions is not.

Appointments and Awards

The Association also conferred a number of awards for 2020 during its annual meeting. Among them were Outstanding Director—Randy Edwards, Johnston County. Farm Family of the Year— Grissom Family Farms, Vance County. Extension Award—Rick Bonanno, N.C. Director of Extension.

TGANC officers for 2020 are Griffin, president; Jonathon Renn, Franklin County, vice president; Billy Carter, Moore County, secretary; Matt Grissom, Vance County, treasurer, and Clay Strickland, Sampson County, past president.