Tobacco is a vital element to the economies of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These five countries provide some 18% of tobacco leaf globally. Not only does the crop provide direct and indirect employment for hundreds of thousands of people and many more dependents, but it also fuels an induced economy built on services such as agronomy, transport, and other industries, such as fertilizers, machine equipment, threshing plants, etc.

In purely cash terms, tobacco represents over $2.0 billion in revenue to these five countries and is a vital generator of scarce of foreign earnings for those countries. In 2012 the primary value chain of tobacco in the SADC and COMESA region was measured at some $10 billion. (Please see attached NKC study).

Yet, there are significant threats to tobacco growing in the region, most of which stem from policies developed by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control FCTC. Some of the Articles of the FCTC specifically aim to curtail the tobacco crop and others damage the value chain of tobacco. Earlier drafts of Articles 17 & 18 of the FCTC sought to limit the acreage, seasons for growing, funding and auctioning of tobacco. Only successful engagement diluted such extreme proposals. Nevertheless, efforts continue to diversify farmers out of tobacco growing. Other extreme Articles contained in and being developed by Articles 9 &10 of the Framework Convention to ban ingredients, flavouring or nicotine content in leaf, if accepted, will have dire consequences for millions of tobacco farmers and related economies.

Further along the legitimate tobacco value chain, efforts aimed at introducing Plain Packaging, will have unintended consequences such as propelling and incentivizing illicit trade in tobacco. Other proposed measures such as efforts to carve out tobacco from international trade agreements constitute would result in an existential threat to the tobacco sector in African tobacco growing countries.

Given the extensive value chain and its importance to African economies, a credible, authoritative and independent research study is required to properly contextualize the tobacco value chain in these five named countries.

The study would have a number of core objectives, inter alia:

Quantify the true traded value of tobacco, including any and all services or industries dependent on it

Measure the total value chain direct and indirect of the tobacco grown in the five countries.

Demonstrate how the tobacco sector in the five countries measures up to and contributes to the achievement of the post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.