The Agricultural Research and Extension Trust (Aret) says it is uncovering more tobacco varieties that will be customised to Malawian environment.
Aret chief executive officer Albert Changaya said this on Friday at Kabwafu Research Station in Mzimba District during a Tobacco Field Day.
The existing local varieties, which the research centre produced, are for burley, flue cured and dark-fire cured tobacco.
Changaya said Aret is conducting a research in which they have tentatively discovered more tobacco varieties that will add on to the list.
He said: “I can assure farmers that we are discovering more local varieties that will provide better quality. These varieties will also be resistant to drought and bacterial diseases, including nematodes.
“The varieties will be unveiled later in the coming two or more years.”
In a separate interview, Tobacco Farmers Association of Malawi president Abel Kalima-Banda urged farmers to grow locally-bred tobacco seed varieties.
He said: “There is no need for farmers to grow imported tobacco seed varieties when local ones do better than them.
“Local tobacco varieties fetch better prices on the market and we can save more foreign exchange at a cost of not importing seeds from outside countries.”
Meanwhile, Inkosi Mpherembe of Mzimba has discouraged farmers from selling the leaf to illegal markets.
“Selling tobacco to vendors and other unwarranted buyers means denying our own country an access to the much needed foreign exchange,” he said.
Kugulitsa ku Mozambique tikungoonongatu transport basi koma cash yopeza yambiri kwabasi kusiyana kuno kwathu eeee 1 dollar koma zoduladula eeee kandalama kokupeza mwini wake zosagwirizana ndi zomwe unaliwetsa polima. Moto ukakutentha sachita kukuuza kuti moto uwo.