Our Team
THE BOARD
At the highest level, the Commission is driven by a Board of Commissioners which provides guidance on strategic matters.
TC ready for early opening of marketing season
The Tobacco Commission has announced that preparations for the early opening of this year’s marketing season later this month are at an advanced stage, with the licensing of key stakeholders expected to be finalised by Friday, 11th March. TC announced this in Lilongwe...
Commission simplifies access to tobacco information
The Tobacco Commission has announced the roll out of a new information management system that will allow the public easy access to Malawi tobacco industry information and is expected to improve efficiency in regulatory work. TC Chief Executive Officer Dr Joseph...
Tobacco Marketing Season to open in March
The 2022 Tobacco Marketing Season will open earlier than has usually been the case in previous years. Chief Executive Officer Dr Joseph Chidanti-Malunga says the early opening has been planned in the economic interest of growers whose tobacco will be ready by March,...
Reforms bail Commission from losses
TC reforms progress reporting meeting with VP Dr Saulos Chilima on Monday The implementation of reforms at the Tobacco Commission is bearing fruits giving us hope for greater efficiency in promoting the production and marketing of tobacco in Malawi. Reforms turned...
First round of crop estimates survey rolls out
A tobacco field in central Malawi in 2022 The first round of crop estimates survey for the 2021/2022 farming season rolled out yesterday, February 6, with teams of enumerators expected to collect data up to the 25th of the month. The teams were deployed to different...
Commission to intervene on late rains impact on tobacco farmers’ earnings
A tobacco nursery at a farm in Lilongwe. Photo credit: TAMA Farmers Trust The Tobacco Commission says it will undertake appropriate interventions to cushion farmers from the potential impact of the late onset of rains on earnings from tobacco in the 2021/2022...
CEO tackles questions on the future of tobacco in Malawi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbW1fpQMj4I As tobacco growers take care of their nurseries as part of the 2021/2022 farming season, some sectors of society continue raising questions over the future of the leaf in Malawi. In this interview with Times TV earlier this...
Demand for Malawi’s tobacco intact – Tobacco Commission
Dr Chidanti Malunga Presenting during conferenceThe CEO(First on the right) and participants following conference session The Tobacco Commission says Malawi’s traditional tobacco buyers have assured the regulator they will continue buying the leaf, parrying fears...
Registration of tobacco transporters and commercial graders for 2021/2022 season rolls out
Tobacco Transporters The Tobacco Commission will on November 1, 2021 roll out registration of tobacco transporters and commercial graders for the 2021/2022 season. The exercise will close on December 31, 2021. Transporters and graders who would like to be involved in...
Grower registration and licensing period extended further
The Tobacco Commission has extended the period for the registration of growers for the 2021/2022 season to November 30, 2021. Under the Tobacco Industry Act, it is an offense to grow tobacco without a license. When it initially extended the period to October 29,...
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.