Centre for Excellence Hub to Help World's Most Tobacco-Dependent Farmers Transition to More Sustainable Livelihoods

• A centre of excellence for agricultural transformation in Malawi is being constructed with funding from Foundation for a Smoke-Free World grant.
• The new building will support ongoing technical programs that focus on creating an inclusive science, technology, and business incubation centre for research, training, learning and innovation. It will be hosted by the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) and open to smallholder farmers, researchers and other key stakeholders across the country's agricultural sector.

NEW YORK, May 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) reinforced its commitment to help farmers in the world's most tobacco dependent country, Malawi, explore and embrace sustainable agriculture alternatives to tobacco farming.

With funding from a five-year FSFW grant, construction has begun for the Centre for Agricultural Transformation's (CAT) physical facility at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) campus in the Malawian capital.

The goal of the CAT is to transform Malawian agriculture systems and the lives of Malawian smallholder farmers by giving them access to inclusive innovation in agricultural science and technology through a range of commercialization channels. The CAT has been managing its programs without a central location, establishing CAT smart farms at LUANAR (Bunda and Natural Resources Campus) and Makoka research station where over 10 value chains have been explored that are becoming popular with smallholder farmers, including: groundnuts, soybean, dairy, mushrooms, and bananas. The new physical hub will be a centre of excellence that will build upon this work with support from FSFW's affiliate, the Agricultural Transformation Initiative (ATI).

"World No Tobacco Day highlights the importance of helping farmers transition away from growing tobacco. Malawi is ready, willing and able to move away from tobacco as one of its main exports, but the work must start at ground level," said Candida Nakhumwa, Vice-President and Malawi Country Director, Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.

"Tobacco farmers and the land on which tobacco is grown are often overlooked in the conversation about ending smoking. The global decline in tobacco demand is bringing negative economic consequences to tobacco farmers. They must be supported to find competitive and sustainable alternative livelihoods.

"That is where the CAT's approach and activities come in, providing much-needed support to farmers, agribusinesses, communities and other stakeholders working to build long-term resilience by diversifying away from tobacco production."

Malawi is one of the largest tobacco-producing countries in the world. Tobacco accounts for more than 60% of the country's foreign exchange earnings and 13% of the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product. Between 2016 and 2021, tobacco exports in real terms dropped by 42%, according to the World Bank.

Mwatitha Braynati, a groundnuts Malawian farmer since 2020, said:

"Before the CAT came to partner with us my groundnut harvest totaled just 30 bags. Two years later, in 2022, from the same 1 hectare of land, my harvest increased to 120 bags with technical guidance from the CAT. Next year I expect it to increase to 150 bags by applying the new practices and technologies demonstrated through the CAT smart farms. 

"The proceeds from the sale of this harvest have ensured my family of 7 children and 4 grandchildren is happy and does not lack for a good variety of food at home."

Learn more about the Centre for Agricultural Transformation via the following link: https://youtu.be/HPm5MpXqyqs 

Learn more Mwatitha Braynati, a Malawian groundnuts farmer, via the following link:  https://youtu.be/tBfC2oRhuRI 

 About CAT's Technical Program:

• Serves as a hub for science, technology, innovation and incubation, where smallholder farmers and businesses can view and experiment with agri-tech, exchange ideas, create partnerships and develop business plans to advance new and sustainable livelihoods.
• Supports creation of a market for alternative commodities, and research institutions dedicated to science and technology, where they can incubate and advance innovative ideas that help transition the agricultural sector away from tobacco.
• Provides customized technical assistance, including mentorship, agribusiness development support, and connections to networks to help advance agricultural diversification.  This includes increasing the scale in which smallholder farmers are taught about products, practices, and technologies that can improve their agricultural productivity and improve their livelihoods.
• Delivers access to soil testing and food testing laboratories so farmers can improve management of soil amendment initiatives and agri-preneurs can ensure their products meet the quality levels required to be market ready.

About the Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT)
The Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT) is a science, technology, and business incubation project that promotes the charitable mission of supporting smallholder Malawian farmers in making economically viable, data-driven decisions for diversifying their incomes and ridding them of their dependence on tobacco farming. Launched in 2019, the CAT is supported by a grant from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, with general assistance from the Foundation's affiliate, the Agricultural Transformation Initiative.

About the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is an independent, U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization with the purpose of improving global health by ending smoking in this generation. The Foundation supports its mission through three broad categories of work: health and science research; agricultural diversification; and industry transformation. Funded by annual gifts from PMI Global Services Inc. ("PMI"), the Foundation is independent from PMI and operates in a manner that ensures its independence from any commercial entity. For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.smokefreeworld.org.

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