According to Nyasa Times, Malawi's 2025/2026 tobacco registration season has faced a chaotic start, leaving thousands of smallholder farmers sleeping outside registration centres due to technical failures. The new Know Your Grower system, implemented by the Tobacco Commission and TAMA Farmers Trust to improve traceability and eliminate fake accounts, has been delayed by collapsed networks and failed fingerprint scanners. Farmers in areas such as Nambuma in Lilongwe, Kandewu in Ntcheu, and Bolero in Rumphi have reportedly camped out for days in the cold while waiting for the system to process their details.
In other agricultural developments, a new facility in Blantyre is turning waste materials into granulated organic fertiliser, Malawi24 reports. The Rural Development Investment Initiative Trust plant in Chileka is currently producing about 3,000 kilograms of fertiliser per hour during its daily eight-hour shifts. According to chairperson Hastings Bofomo Nyirenda, the facility aims to increase the availability of locally manufactured farming inputs and reduce the country's reliance on imported fertiliser as the upcoming planting season approaches.