Chithyola’s Namuleri Farm hosts media, reveals plans to produce 3000 bales of tobacco each year

Namuleri Farms Limited, a leading name in agricultural transformation in Malawi, hosted members of the Media Network on Tobacco (MNT) on Thursday. The professional network, formed in 2016, includes journalists from various media houses and aims to promote the tobacco industry.

The founder and managing director of Namuleri Farms, Simplex Chithyola Banda, who also serves as Malawi’s Minister of Finance, welcomed the visiting journalists. In his remarks, Banda revealed that the farm expects to produce 3,000 bales of tobacco this year, a significant increase from last season’s 1,000 bales. This expansion follows the farm’s decision to increase its cultivation area after observing favorable market prices under the leadership of President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.

Banda emphasized the farm’s commitment to diversification for resilience and its active participation in corporate social responsibility. The farm has invested in community projects such as drilling boreholes, building school blocks, and constructing churches for nearby villages. It has also created 300 jobs for locals, aligning with the government’s agenda of job creation.

Namuleri Farms has diversified into various ventures, including cattle farming with over 1,000 heads, pig and goat farming, fish farming, vegetable cultivation, and cassava farming. These initiatives align with the 2019 Tobacco Industrial Act, which encourages farmers to diversify their operations. The farm operates under the slogan, “We eat what we produce, and we produce what we eat.”

Speaking during the event, MNT President Alfred Chauwa expressed gratitude to Namuleri Farms for hosting the network. He encouraged media practitioners to share the farm’s success stories through their platforms to raise awareness about the tobacco value chain. Chauwa also called on other stakeholders to collaborate with MNT, emphasizing the network’s role in promoting the industry.

The interface highlighted the crucial role of collaboration between agriculture and the media in fostering industry growth and community development. Namuleri Farms continues to set an example of how agricultural enterprises can thrive while contributing to national development and sustainability.

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