‘Golden leaf’ loses its lustre

The growing global campaign against smoking poses a daunting challenge for Malawi, a country almost entirely dependent on tobacco for government revenue, employment and development financing. After the government, the tobacco industry is the second largest employer. It is responsible for 75 per cent of foreign earnings and contributes 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. The crop has been so eagerly embraced by farmers in the region that they call it the “golden leaf.”