Malawian President Advocates for Cannabis Production
California’s cannabis production took off after the state’s legalization of recreational use of the drug in 2016, a market change that has had dire effects on the local environment—effects that Malawi’s president, who is advocating for increased cannabis production, is not addressing (Inside Climate News)
Malawian President Lazerus Chakwera publicly advocated for a nationwide switch from tobacco to cannabis farming on April 20, the beginning of the tobacco farming season. April 20 was the second time Chakwera encouraged the public to make the switch. The first time was in his State of the Nation Address in September 2020, in which he said, “While tobacco remains Malawi’s primary export and a key form of income for many Malawians, the crop is unlikely to provide a sustainable source of income in the longer-term given a decline in global demand.”
In February 2020, the Malawian Parliament legalized cannabis for industrial and medicinal use. This change in legislation should allow Malawian farmers to earn more profits, as they have been suffering from the low tobacco prices of existing market monopolies, in which there are only nine major buyers. Until cannabis production picks up speed, Chakwera made sure to address the monopoly issue in March by instating a price floor of $230 per kilogram.
This adjustment in price restrictions will hopefully ease the transition from tobacco to cannabis production. Malawian economics lecturer Betchani Tchereni affirmed this idea, saying, “At the beginning, [the] first, the second and maybe even the third year[s of cannabis production]... will be tough for us to acclimatize to... but we just have to go to the new stuff… nuts, beans, industrial hemp—research has shown us that that's where money is."
Furthermore, the Malawi Hemp Organization noted, “If Malawi succeeds in becoming the first African country to legalize hemp and monopolize off of its growth, they will have the advantage of regulating the hemp industry in Africa and being at the frontier of new hemp developments.”
Declines in Malawi and Global Tobacco Production
In 2015, the country reportedly produced almost 23 percent of all of Africa’s output of tobacco. In 2018 alone, more than 95,000 tons of tobacco were harvested in Malawi. However, worldwide demand is decreasing steadily.
Malawi’s tobacco output fell by 31.3 percent in 2020, causing a 26.4 percent decline in the country’s overall tobacco revenues. However, countries around the world haven’t decreased their demand—in the United States, “the number of people seeking help to quit smoking plummeted 27 percent last year as the public grappled with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.” In fact, U.S. Treasury Department data shows that cigarette sales increased 1 percent in 2020, a change in pace following the five percent annual decrease in tobacco usage each year since 2015.
In recent years, a global trend has developed in which high-income countries are cutting their tobacco production rates dramatically, which in turn is pushing low-income countries to supply more. Between 2003 and 2012, the total area harvested for tobacco in African countries increased by 66 percent, while output increased by 48 percent. During the same period, production decreased by five percent in the United States, and by a whopping 43 percent in Europe.
The top three leading tobacco producers in the world are China, India, and Brazil, with Zimbabwe and Zambia also in the top ten. Malawi is the fifth largest producer in Africa, producing approximately 13 percent of the entire continent’s production.
Environmental Impact of Tobacco and Cannabis Production
Such a change in the locations of tobacco production has pushed the negative environmental effects of tobacco farming onto these lower-income countries, polluting their land and water. A report from 2012 shows that “tobacco farming, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, leads to deforestation and soil erosion because of the clearing of land for tobacco farming and curing, and the pollution of rivers and streams with agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers that are used extensively.”
More than 60 percent of Africa’s population depends on subsistence farming, so healthy environmental conditions from sustainable agricultural practices are crucial to countries such as Malawi. Governments of major African tobacco-producing countries have tried to address the deforestation problem caused by tobacco production, but “the amount of reforestation is much less than mandated by the government or what is necessary to stem the rate of deforestation.”
Not dissimilarly, studies carried out in California show that during the low flow period of rivers, irrigation demands for cannabis cultivation can exceed the amount of water flowing in a river, putting aquatic life at risk. Cannabis production can also pollute streams, degrade, watersheds, and kill wildlife.
While outdoor cultivation is remarkably better for the environment than indoor cultivation, the majority of the environmental impact of cannabis production outside water and electricity use are volatile organic compounds, also known as VOAs or terpenes. VOAs are chemicals that emit potentially harmful gases which react with other pollutants in the atmosphere, creating “ground-level ozone, an unstable toxic gas that ravages local ecosystems.”
Thus, while Malawi may improve its economy by shifting gears and placing more focus on cannabis production as opposed to tobacco, cannabis production will continue the environment’s deterioration, perhaps beyond amelioration.