Grow cannabis not tobacco - Malawi president

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera. [Courtesy]

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera warned on Wednesday that his country's leading foreign exchange earner, tobacco, was in terminal decline and he urged a switch to high-growth crops like cannabis, which was legalised locally for some uses last year.

Chakwera made the comments during a state of the nation address in which he said tobacco was expected to earn less than $200 million in 2021, a figure roughly similar to the past two years but well below previous annual earnings that used to top $350 million.