About the Growers
1st-nation is committed to raising the economic prosperity of farmers in the central African country of Malawi from where the majority of our tobacco is sourced.
Tobacco is the country’s major export crop - responsible for 70 per cent of all export earnings. Agriculture is the mainstay of Malawi's economy - accounting for over 90 per cent of GDP. Out of a total population of 11 million, the majority of Malawians are farmers - and seven million owe their livelihoods to the tobacco industry.
But economic dependency on tobacco has not brought the country wealth. According to the World Bank, over 60 per cent of Malawians live below the poverty line - with limited access to land, little education and poor health.
We aim to source the majority of the tobacco we use from small, independent, farmers in Malawi. For every tonne of tobacco purchased at market prices we make a voluntary donation to an independent local organisation (NASFAM) that invests in agricultural projects that will directly help their farmers to diversify into growing alternative, more profitable, crops.
This local organisation consists of about 108,000 Malawian smallholders, most of them farming on less than a hectare of land. Already the extra money earned by the Malawian farmers who have supplied tobacco for 1st-nation has been used to buy a mobile peanut sheller. This machine will allow farmers to remove the outer shells far more efficiently than doing it by hand as they do at the moment, creating additional income and higher skilled employment. And as the sheller is mobile it can be used by lots of small farmers throughout Malawi.
The National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM ) is the largest smallholder-owned membership organisation in Malawi. Originally set up to assist smallholder tobacco farmers, NASFAM now promotes diversified production of crops such as groundnuts, rice, soya and chilli which can be used as both cash and food crops. NASFAM provides its 100,000 members across the country with support on crop production and marketing, and guidance on how to organise themselves to farm as a business. In addition NASFAM provides support to member communities to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS, to increase gender equality and to ensure food security, and also works to ensure that the voice of the smallholder is heard through policy lobbying and advocacy.
NASFAM members are now benefiting from the groundnut sheller funded by 1st Nation / AMT as it helps to get the nuts to the customer faster, and income to the smallholder faster.
1st nation is working with NASFAM small farmers to deliver a fair price for their crops, and provide a means to move the farmers towards sustainable and diversified crops for the longer term.
The National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) is the largest smallholder-owned membership organisation in Malawi. Originally set up to assist smallholder tobacco farmers, NASFAM now promotes diversified production of crops such as groundnuts, rice, soya and chilli which can be used as both cash and food crops. NASFAM provides its 100,000 members across the country with support on crop production and marketing, and guidance on how to organise themselves to farm as a business. In addition NASFAM provides support to member communities to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS, to increase gender equality and to ensure food security, and also works to ensure that the voice of the smallholder is heard through policy lobbying and advocacy.
NASFAM members are now benefiting from the groundnut sheller funded by 1st Nation / AMT as it helps to get the nuts to the customer faster, and income to the smallholder faster.
1st nation is working with NASFAM small farmers to deliver a fair price for their crops, and provide a means to move the farmers towards sustainable and diversified crops for the longer term.
Find out more about The National Smallholder Farmers'Association of Malawi at www.nasfam.org