Heavy rains prompt Malawi to cut tobacco forecast

Malawi has cut its 2008 tobacco production forecast by about 3 percent due to the expected impact of heavy rains on the crop, which accounts for almost three-quarters of the southern African nation's exports.

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Henderson Chimoyo of the government's Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) said Malawi expected to produce 145 million kg of burley and flue-cured tobacco this year.

The previous forecast, last updated in January before torrential rains engulfed Malawi and several other southern African nations, was for 150 million kg. Total production for 2007 was 140 million kg.

Malawi is the world's biggest producer of burley tobacco, which is used primarily in the production of cigarettes.

"This is all because of too much rain the country is experiencing, and, of course, the challenges in the distribution of fertilisers to tobacco farmers have compounded the problem," said Chimoyo, the TCC's operations and technical manager.

Plentiful rains are essential for tobacco cultivation, but the unrelenting rains in Malawi in recent weeks have triggered floods that have washed away crops and left others waterlogged and prone to disease.

About 2 million Malawians, or roughly 15 percent of the population, depend upon tobacco and related industries for their livelihood.

Canned trees in aid of Malawi

Primary school children in Hailsham are being offered the chance to grow trees in cans as part of a nationwide recycling initiative — and help plant fruit trees in Malawi.
The scheme will see a fruit tree being planted for every tonne of aluminium recycled.

All aluminium recycled through kerbside collections and recycling banks in the Wealden area will be counted towards the project total.

Not-for-profit organisation Alupro is supporting the project which aims to plant 85,000 fruit trees in local community nurseries in the southern Africa country.

Around half the trees, such as guava and pawpaw, will be grown from seed and the remainder will be introduced orange, avocado and mango trees, which will be grafted on to wild rootstock at a new purpose built greenhouse at the charity Ripple Africa's Malawian base.

Local schools are being encouraged to register with Alupro to receive the free tree growing kit which contains everything needed to grow silver birch
saplings to plant at school, along with educational materials linked to recycling, lifecycles and the African project.

Schools are also being offered the chance to make a DVD about how they look after their environment to exchange with a Malawian school.

The first prize for the best film is a trip for the class teacher to visit the project in Malawi.

Every school that enters the competition will win a £20 voucher to spend making improvements to their school's environment.

To find out more about the Fruit Trees for Malawi campaign or the free primary schools kit and competition please call 0845 722 7722 or visit the website, www.alupro.org.uk

Rocky road to progress in Africa

Our drive through the picturesque Zomba region of southern Malawi, with its thick forests and rolling hills, is suddenly interrupted by ground so unstable we are thrown forward and backward in the seats of our truck.

It feels like an earthquake, but it's just a typical rural African road. The major highway out of the capital Lilongwe has ended, and the rest of the journey is on dirt roads that connect nearby cities. It's bumpy, full of enormous potholes and, thanks to the recent rain, covered in mud. Within 20 minutes, we are stuck.

This treacherous journey is part of everyday life in much of rural Africa, where roads are largely sub- par or non-existent. What turned into a mere inconvenience for us is far more serious for the locals, as the lack of a single usable road can determine whether they get an education or even basic medical care.

"In a life-and-death situation, if you don't have a road, you don't go to the clinic," explains Robin Wiszowaty, an American development worker in East Africa's famed Masai Mara region.

Infrastructure is one of the most fundamental elements of development, yet is often overlooked by both local governments and NGOs. According to the World Bank, sub-Saharan Africa has 0.08 kilometres of road for every square kilometre of land, compared to 0.58 kilometres of road in developed countries like France and England.

Rural African roads that do exist are often made of dirt and poorly kept, meaning they don't stand a chance against the rainy season, which can last for months.

Even minimal use can cause the roads to deteriorate quickly, with gaping holes making them impassable and even dangerous. Produce trucks and farm tractors don't stand a chance and regularly become stuck, isolating communities from one another and trapping locals.

When the roads are not usable for something as simple as walking to the next community, children have difficulty attending their schools, pregnant mothers cannot reach hospitals in town and farmers have no way of tending to and selling their crops at larger markets. It also means that deliveries of food aid, medical care and other supplies become a logistical nightmare.

Wiszowaty says she is regularly approached by people in her community who are in desperate need of a ride to the local hospital. If the roads are good enough, as they were when a woman suffering life-threatening labour complications recently knocked at her door, she drives them. If not, they have no choice but to attempt the 20-kilometre trek in a wheelbarrow.

"If she didn't have the road, she wouldn't have made it," she says.

In recent years, the World Bank has begun working with European and African governments to fund infrastructure projects in poor areas. One of these projects, which built all-season gravel roads in parts of Ethiopia, doubled the maize and wheat yields of local farmers in a year and a half, helping them earn a much better income for their families.

But a lot of work remains. The World Bank says that in places like Mali and Senegal, less than 30 per cent of the roads are in "good" or "fair" condition. Without modern roads, advances in education, the economy and health care will remain out of reach for the people who need these services most. Infrastructure may not be the most glamorous project for NGOs and governments, but it is a fundamental one.

FT Camfed appeal: an education in itself

The FT's seasonal appeal on behalf of Camfed International, which supports the education of poor African girls, has raised the grand total of £1,638,963.

I would like to thank readers who have given so generously to the appeal, which has raised enough to put 5,463 girls through secondary education - potentially transforming their lives and those of their families. In addition, thanks to readers' donations, Camfed is going to extend its work this year to a fifth African country, Malawi. It already operates in Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

This year's appeal has been greatly aided by some extremely generous contributions by foundations and individuals. The Sofronie Foundation and the Skoll Foundation formed a funding partnership that matched reader donations up to a total of £375,000.

The Hunter Foundation, founded by Sir Tom Hunter, the Scottish entrepreneur, similarly gave a £100,000 matching contribution, as did Peter Sherratt, a vice-chairman of Lehman Brothers and deputy chairman of the Camfed board. And another £100,000 was donated by Asif Aziz, the property owner whose interests include the Trocadero centre in Leicester Square, London.

Ann Cotton, the charity's founder and executive director, says: "In the past, the voices of rural girls in Africa have been barely audible. But they have spoken through the pages of the Financial Times these past two months with passion and confidence to a global readership that has listened and responded. The cycle of poverty, passed from poor mother to poor child, will be ended in the lives of 5,400 girls and the benefits will resonate down the generations. This is a magnificent legacy and all of us at Camfed are deeply grateful."

For anyone who has missed it, our Camfed coverage can still be found on our website at www.ft.com/appeal. Again, thank you for your support.

Taiwan scraps donation of army vehicles to Malawi

Taiwan has withdrawn 10 vehicles it was to donate to Malawi for a peacekeeping mission in Darfur, a month after the southern Africa country cut diplomatic ties with the island nation, a senior Malawi official said.

Impoverished Malawi ended 41 years of relations with Taiwan in December and established links with mainland China, which has emerged as a major economic power in Africa and regards Taiwan as a renegade province.

Malawi Defence Minister Bob Khamisa said Taiwan has asked Toyota Malawi for a MK50 million refund that was used to buy the 4x4 Land Cruisers.

"We have not yet collected the vehicles from Toyota Malawi although Taiwan already made the payments to that effect. But now this is a big blow to both Malawi army and the troubled Darfur region," Khamisa told Reuters.

Malawi is sending 800 soldiers to war-torn Darfur under the African Union joint peacekeeping mission. More than 20,000 civilians have died in the last four years in Darfur and the conflict has displaced an estimated 2.5 million people.

Toyota Malawi and Taiwan spokesman Elliot Jiang declined to comment. Toyota said it would release a statement in due course.

The Taiwanese decision comes weeks after it pulled out 19 of its medical staff and equipment from a 300-bed hospital it built in northern Malawi.

Taiwan has also withdrawn technical assistance from a college in the capital Lilongwe, forcing the education ministry to suspend some courses that were on offer.

The number of countries that recognise Taiwan has dwindled since the United States, once Taiwan's biggest backer, formally recognised China in the wake of former U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 trip to China.