Our Team
THE BOARD
At the highest level, the Commission is driven by a Board of Commissioners which provides guidance on strategic matters.
Minister commends Commission on farmers’ payments
Minister of Agriculture Hon. Sam Kawale has commended the Tobacco Commission for an impressive coordination of the 2023 tobacco marketing season. Speaking to journalists on the status of the 2023 grower registration and licensing exercise in Lilongwe on Monday, Hon....
International tobacco growers discuss production
The Tobacco Commission on Monday joined tobacco growers and other global industry players at the 2023 International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) annual general meeting underway in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The general meeting is, among other things, expected to...
Malawi for protecting country’s tobacco integrity
The Malawi tobacco industry today adopted the Agricultural Labour Practices (ALP) Code, described as critical in protecting the integrity of the country’s tobacco. Aimed at promoting good practices in tobacco production, the Code is expected to standardize the...
Grower registration and licensing period extended
The Commission has extended the 2023 farmer registration and licensing period to 31 October. The registration and licensing exercise which started on 10 July this year was supposed to close on Saturday, September 30. “We have extended the period in response to...
Licensed tobacco volumes increase
Licensed tobacco volumes increase There is an increase in licensed tobacco volumes in the on-going 2023/2024 registration and licensing exercise when compared to last year's. By Monday, 18 September, the Commission had already licensed 150 million kilogrammes of...
Malawi Shares notes on tobacco with Zambia
Malawi shares notes on tobacco with Zambia The Tobacco Board of Zambia (TBZ) says is impressed with the operation of the tobacco industry in Malawi. At the end of a week-long learning visit last week, TBZ board chairperson Mr Phil Daka cited harmony between the...
Upward movements in tobacco selling season
There are upward changes in the 2023 tobacco selling season, from volumes to prices, a recent sales report shows. At the end of Week 3 of the selling season on Friday, April 28, the industry recorded a 2,037% change in the volumes of tobacco sold this year over...
Commission awarded
The Tobacco Commission has been awarded by the Employers Consultative Association of Malawi as 2022 Employer of the Year in the Industrial Relations and Employee Engagement category. The award was presented to the Commission by Malawi President Dr Lazarus McCarthy...
New tobacco buyer on the scene
One more buying company, Hail & Cotton, has been licensed to buy tobacco in the 2023 selling season bringing the number of buyers to 10.TC Chief Executive Officer Dr Joseph Chidanti-Malunga disclosed this on Thursday during a media briefing on the tobacco...
TC has a new board chairperson
Government has appointed former Chief Executive Officer of the Tobacco Commission Dr Godfrey Chapola as the regulator’s new board chairperson. Dr Chapola replaces Mr Michael Nyirenda who has since been appointed into the board of the Technical, Entrepreneurial...
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
Our Executive Management comprises the following:
Chief Executive Officer
Mr George Chinkhandwe
Director of Technical Services
Mr Evans Chilumpha
Director of Human Resources & Administration/Acting Chief Executive Officer
Mr Chimwemwe Luhanga
Director of Finance
Brief History Of Tobacco Farming In Malawi
Tobacco was introduced in Malawi (then Nyasaland) in 1889 by David Buchanan. The first export was made in 1893 where tobacco weighing 40 pounds was sold at an auction in London. Six years later, 2,240 pounds of tobacco was exported. Notable growers then were Messrs Hynde and Stark among others (1899).
From 1906 to 1925, the industry expanded rapidly with the coming in of A.F Barron, Wallace and later Conforzi. The first two bought their respective estates in Zomba and later expanded their operations to the central region where they established farms at Mbabvi and Lingadzi. Here, they experimented with the tenancy system that helped to expand tobacco farming among natives.
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The rapid expansion led to over production and deteriorating quality of the leaf. Authorities and all stakeholders saw the need to establish laws to govern and regulate the industry. Discussions on the same started in 1924 and the first new law called Tobacco Ordinance was enacted in 1926.
The tobacco crisis of 1930s that saw overproduction of the crop and a sharp drop in prices prompted authorities to form the Tobacco Marketing Ordinance (1937) that succeeded the Tobacco Ordinance. Later, in 1938, the Tobacco Control Board was formed and was followed by Auction Nyasaland Limited.