Know, Claim and Defend your Rights

MALAWI CARER
The Malawi Centre for Advice, Research and Education on
Rights

MALAWI TEA RESEARCH PROJECT

COMMISSIONED BY SOMO

1
 Table of contents:

CONTENT PAGE

Introduction 2
Executive summary 2
Study objectives 6
Social conditions 6
Economic impacts 6
Environmental impacts 6
Methodology 6
Literature review 6
Field Data Collection 6
Structure of the Report 8
Smallholder Sector 8
Background 8
Challenges 11
Activities of local and foreign estates 14
Social Impacts 14
Employment 14
Child labour 15
Social benefits 17
Education 18
Health Care 19
Capacity building 19
Occupation Health and Safety 20
Harassment and Discrimination 21
Economic Impacts 21
Smallholder farmers 22
Plantation Workers 23
Other Sources of Income 23
Environmental Impacts 24
Agrochemicals 24
Waste Management 25
Conservation Measures 25
Tea Associations and Trade unions 28
Recommendations 29
Reference 30

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1.0 Introduction

This report is the outcome of a research commissioned by Centre for Research on

Multinational Corporations (SOMO) a Dutch non profit research and advisory bureau and
conducted by Malawi Centre for Advice, Research and Education on Rights (Malawi
CARER). It covers tea research findings in Malawi on social, economic, environmental
and labour issues. Desk and primary data forms the basis of the report. The report aims at
informing the world of issues and development related to growing tea in Malawi. It can
also form the basis for advocacy and lobbying initiatives in tea sector in Malawi.

The agricultural sector is extremely important to Malawi’s economy and to most of

Malawi’s households, contributing to 40 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and
90 percent of export earnings. More than eight of every ten Malawian households rely on
agriculture as their major livelihood strategy. And while the Government of Malawi
(GoM) recognizes agriculture as the main engine in the sectoral growth of the economy
and economic empowerment to the rural populace, smallholder farmers continue to face
constraints to sustainable growth, particularly poor access to markets.

Smallholder farmers frequently rely on informal traders to sell their produce, thereby
increasing their vulnerability to the vagaries of the market. The lack of economies of
scale reduces bargaining power, increases transaction costs and enhances production and
marketing vulnerability. Laborers working in the fields do not know their rights. As a
result of this ignorance on labour rights and rights in general, plantation owners take
advantage of the situation and exploit them. This exploitation takes form of Labour or
employment abuses in the estates which include poor working environments (poor
housing, lack of protective wear, poor sanitation), unfair dismissals, non payment of
wages and non payment and underpayment of severance pay.1

60% of people working as laborers and those living around the estates are illiterate and
this perpetuates the cycle of poverty. This situation is compounded by a high prevalence
rate of HIV/AIDS, which has decimated the labor force and raised the household
dependency ratio. Additionally, HIV/AIDS has created large numbers of
“demographically vulnerable” groups, which are defined as households lacking adult
labor, elderly-headed households and child-headed households. The decline of social
capital in poor communities has exacerbated the vulnerability of these households.

With a 2001 national seroprevalence rate of 15% that is likely to decline slowly over the
next 10 years given current sexual behavior patterns, Malawi is facing severe
demographic, social, economic, and political consequences from the HIV/AIDS epidemic
for at least the next three decades. In the view of many HIV/AIDS experts, the ability to
deliver prevention, care, treatment, and impact mitigation services on a national scale is
absolutely critical to the future social and economic stability of the country.

1
MSMC-Labour Document: Tea Estates Labour Issues in the Shire Highlands Sustainable Livelihood
Programme Area

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It is in this regard that SOMO and partners would like to carry a research to find out how
positively and negatively the tea sector has impacted the communities working in and
around the tea plantations in Malawi. The Research will also assist SOMO and Partners
to come up with initiatives and strategies such as advocacy to address the issues.

1.1 Acknowledgement

Malawi CARER would like to thank SOMO for financial and technical support rendered
during preparation, collection of data and reporting. It would be unfair not thank district
labour officers for Mulanje and Thyolo for their cooperation, guidance and human
support rendered during the data collection exercise.

1.2 Executive summary

Malawi lies within the Great African Rift Valley. The elevation is 3000 to 9000 meters
above sea level with Lake Malawi along the western border. Nutrient rich soil, tropical
climate and high elevation are the components of some of the best teas produced.
Although Malawi teas are not known as single estate teas, yet they are essential in
many tea blends.

Malawi was the first country in Africa to grow tea on a commercial scale, which started
at Mulanje in the 1880s. Today, large commercial estates account for 93% of production,
with the remainder grown by some 6,500-8000 smallholders who share only 15% of the
land under tea2. Most of the estates are owned by foreign companies and are based in the
districts of Mulanje and Thyolo the principle tea growing regions in the South (East) of
Malawi. (See map below)

Ownership of these commercial estates is concentrated among 11 companies, of which

the largest is Eastern Produce Malawi (EPM), which owns 21 of the 44 estates. The
company is a subsidiary of British Public Limited Company CAMILIA. Interestingly, all
the tea estates are Members of Tea Association of Malawi Limited (TAML) an
organization that control and dictate some policies to the members.

Figure 1 is the map of Malawi showing regions and districts

2
Line Eldring, Malawi Tea Child Labour Sector (Fafo Study)

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Malawi is the second largest tea producer in Africa after Kenya and produces
approximately 10% of African tea. In 2005 and 2006 she exported 44,613,528 kilograms
valued at US$ 42,213,259 (MK5, 909,856,224) and 43,979,917 kilograms valued at
$48,123,417 (Mk 6,737,278,325) respectively3. The table 1 below shows exports of tea
and major exporters in 2005 and 2006.

3
National Statistics Office (NSO) Report; 2006

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Table 1.

Source: National Statistics office (NSO), Report 2007

The Current (2006-2007) annual tea exports stands at about 43,000 metric tones,
contributing 3% of global tea exports4. Roughly one-third of Malawi’s crop is sold
through the Limbe Auction the rest is sold directly to exporters. Major international
companies such as Unilever and Tata Tetley buy a high proportion of the tea. The biggest
export destinations are the UK and South Africa. The color and brightness of Malawi tea
is a key factor in blending of leading British tea brands.5

Although Malawians have been producing tea on commercial scale for over 100 years,
socio-economic conditions of workers and the surrounding communities are very poor6.
Work on the tea plantations is highly intensive, but wages are very low. In all estates the
basic wage for time work of all daily rated employees in 2007 was MK101 (Malawian
Kwacha) equivalent to US$ 0.72 and plucking rate was as low as MK2.29 equivalent to
US$ 0.016 per kilogram of green leaf plucked.7

Although there is existence of memoranda of recognition and access agreement between

Agricultural Employers Association and Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union

4
Reported by The Sunday Times March 2,2008
5
Malawi Tea 2002 : Journal of Malawi Tea, 2, 7-16
6
diagnostic trade integration study-Malawi, 2002)
7
TAML Employment Practices and Conditions: WCE/TEA/1/2007

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(PAWU), industrial relations in the tea sector can be described as hardly existing8.
Absence of a strong trade union in the sector affects the workers freedom of association
and collective bargaining. Hence the conditions of service and employment practices are
dictated by the Tea Association of Malawi Limited in which estate owners are major
players and workers have no representation.9

Harassment and sexual discrimination remains a challenge in all estates and women are
victims. This study noted that it is very difficult to measure extent of this discrimination
and harassment due to the fact that most of these cases go unreported.

This study also found that, the child labor is widespread in small-scale tea farming where
it takes the form of household chores. Child labour was not directly observed in the field
research on the large and small tea estates.

1.3 Study Objectives

This Study set to assess social, economic and environmental condition in tea sector in
Malawi.

• Social conditions covered include working conditions, wages, freedom of association

and collective bargaining, trade unions, discrimination, child and bonded labour,
social security/insurances, medical care, maternity and sick leave, contracts,
transportation, health, and safety issues, housing, gender and livelihood.

• Economic issues under study include factors that determine tea prices, the buyer
power, and smallholders’ role in price setting, position of smallholders in processing,
distribution and auctions. Contracts and agreements between big and small players
and opportunities and bottlenecks with respect to adding value to the tea sector.

• Environmentally, the study will assess issues such as soil degradation, erosion,
biodiversity, waste management, soil conservation measures, use of agro-chemicals,
use of natural resources,

The Research is expected to deepen the understanding of the challenges and opportunities
of communities living and working in the tea sector so that ways can be found to address
the issues in the short and long term basis.

1.4 Methodology

The study employed various data collection methods including secondary data review,
and primary data collection techniques, qualitative (focus group discussions) and
quantitative data collection using questionnaires.

8
Line Eldring, Malawi Tea Child Labour Sector, Fafo Study
9
Personal Interview, plantation workers: Paul Kachusa.

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a. Document Review
Key documents were collected from National Statistics Office (NSO), tea estates, and
other stakeholders in relation to the objectives of this study. Academic literature and
comparative studies from other countries on issues affecting tea industries were reviewed
for their insights into how to approach the subject under study.

b. Field Data Collection Methods

Four approaches were used in collecting Field data:

(i.) Plantation Workers Questionnaire

This questionnaire was randomly administered to 49 tea plantation workers from nine tea
plantations / estates. A total of 23 workers were interviewed in Thyolo district and were
randomly sampled from Conforzi Plantations (7) Makandi Tea and Coffee Estates (8) and
Naming'omba Estate (9). The remaining 26 workers were interviewed in Mulanje district
in 4 estates namely, Eastern Produce (6), Lujeri Tea Estate (7) Chitakale (8), and Goa
estate (5). For objectivity, and for the workers to express themselves freely, most
interviews were conducted off plantations and without the consent of the management.

(ii) Smallholder Questionnaire

This was administered to 25 Smallholder tea farmers of whom 18 were males and 7 were
females. 10 Smallholders were sample from Thyolo and the rest came from Mulanje
district.

(iii) Focus Group Discussions

4 group discussions were held in Mulanje (2) and Thyolo (2) districts. In Thyolo, one of
the discussions involved 12 Smallholder farmers and the other involved 10 plantation and
factory workers. In Mulanje the discussions involved 15 Smallholder farmers and 20
plantation and factory workers. During these discussions Smallholders and the workers
brainstormed and discussed several issues which were impossible to capture in
questionnaires.

(iv.) In-depth Interviews

These were conducted to top official in tea estates (managers, personnel officers, and
accountants), labour officers of Mulanje and Thyolo and officials of Tea Association of
Malawi limited (TAML). Union members of Tea, Coffee and Macadamia Workers Union
(TECOMA) and Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (PAWU) were interviewed
only at Makandi Tea and Coffee Estates. In all other estates visited, members of the
above unions did not show up for interviews. Therefore, members of Joint Consultative
Committees (JCC) were interviewed instead. These interviews generated information on
policies, tea production and processing, trade issues and challenges affecting tea industry
in Malawi.

(v.) Challenges Encountered During Data Collection

Despite the fact that Tea Industry is one of the major economic backbones for Malawi,
there is very little literature on the issues affecting this industry. One of the reasons for
this problem is the reception the researchers encounter in the estates. Just like other

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people before us like Line Eldring (Fafo study) and ICFTU/IUF mission, we have been
receiving cold shoulders and no cooperation from some major stakeholders such like the
Tea Association of Malawi Limited (TAML) and some tea estates as well as a number of
key Smallholder farmers. ICFTU/IUF mission reported that the meetings and encounters
with management were very unpleasant and held in unfavorable mood.10

Secondly, it was hard to interview labourers, workers and owners of tea estates because
they were not interested and we were being looked down upon as negative social
auditors. It had to take .the intervention of labour commissioner for us to start the
research. Many targeted informers never shown up just because we offered them no
monetary benefits. They demanded lunch and transport allowances as a precondition for
interview.

Smallholder farmers, workers and casual labourers have been witnessing a lot of research
for the last 10 years. Much of these studies are academic (undergraduate dissertations)
which are often not published and are inaccessible to public. Hence respondents of this
study claim that they don’t see the rewards of such studies. Therefore they have come to
conclude that these researches and studies are useless, wastage of their time and no
connection to their work. Hence many of them shun away the interviews.

1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT

The account below presents the findings of the study in 4 sections. The first section
discusses the findings relating to Smallholder sector. This section examines the
background of smallholder tea farming and highlights the challenges this sector is facing.
The second section focuses on the activities of local and foreign tea estates in Malawi.
Social, economic and environmental impacts of tea industry will be discussed in this
section. The third section of this document analyses the role of associations and the trade
unions in tea industry. Special attention will be paid on the strengths and weaknesses of
these associations. The last section highlights some key observations and makes
recommendations for further research in this field

2.0 SMALLHOLDER SECTOR

2.1 Background

In Malawi, Smallholder tea farming began in 1964. It was introduced in 3 districts,

namely Nkhata Bay, Mulanje and Thyolo. (See the map). This report however, will
concentrate on Mulanje and Thyolo districts only. From its conception to the early 1990's
this sector developed rapidly11. One of the factors that enabled it to grow was the massive
support from the government of Malawi. Smallholder Tea Authority (STA) under
ministry of agriculture was given the responsibility to undertake this development with a

10
Line Eldring 2002
11
Amstrong Khoza, (Unpublished)

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joint financing from Malawi government and British Common wealth Development
Cooperation (CDC).

All Smallholder farmers registered with Smallholder Tea Authority received government
support through subsidized farm inputs (seedlings, fertilizer and chemicals). In addition,
the government employed many agricultural advisers/extension workers who frequently
visited the Smallholder farmers. A factory to purchase, process and market all
smallholders’ tea was established in Mulanje in 1974 with capacity to process 2.5 million
kilograms of made tea per year. This factory was called Malawi Tea Company
(MATECO) and had STA and Agricultural Development Marketing Cooperation
(ADMARC) as share holders. STA and MATECO had monopoly to purchase and
process all green leaf from smallholder growers.

The farmers who grew tea during this period explained how they enjoyed and benefited
from this government support. They claimed that their duty was just to produce the green
leaf i.e. to plant, weed and pluck the green leaf. The STA bore all other responsibilities
such like pest and disease control and treatment, transportation, processing packaging as
well as marketing of smallholder tea. Some farmers interviewed claimed that the STA
even bought damaged or poor tea at the same price of the quality tea, just to motivate and
encourage the Smallholder farmers. On top of this, payment for green leaf by STA to
growers was prompt and timely. Hence this period experienced the production of high
quality tea from Smallholder farmers in spite of the fact that smallholder tea production
was only 900 kilograms of made tea per hectare against 2500 kilograms per hectare
produced by private estates12.

In the early 1990's Malawians experienced transformation in all aspects of life.

Politically, there was a change of leadership from Dr Kamuzu Banda to Mr. Bakili
Muluzi and from one party state to multiparty system of government. This change of
politics was followed by the liberalization of the economy. Several state-controlled
companies were privatized and local institutions were decentralized. This transformation
heavily affected the tea industry especially the Smallholder sector.

The management of Smallholder Tea Authority as well as state run estates like Chitakale
in Mulanje district was changed from qualified and experienced personnel to unqualified
political appointees. Consequently, these institutions experienced poor administration and
gross mismanagement of resources.13 Earlier efforts of assisting smallholders in
production, transportation processing and selling of their tea by the STA were affected.
Default in payment to growers for green leaf delivered became a norm, sometimes 3
months overdue. Therefore the production and morale of the farmers dwindled.14

In response to the above problems, government dissolved STA and MATECO and
created Smallholder Tea Growers Trust (STGT) and Smallholder Tea Company
(STECO) to replace the two. This move however did not help but deteriorate the

12
Armstrong Khoza, The Tea Industry in Malawi (unpublished)
13
A Khoza Unpublished
14
Malawi Tea 2, 2002 (also reported by Khoza A.)

10
situation. Mismanagement and default in payments continued. By 2006 STECO
accumulated large debts for the growers. Hence the government closed down the factory
and sold it to private individual.

Due to problems stated above, smallholder farmers who account for about 14% of the
land under tea and 7% of the production started to abandon the STA and formed
marketing and development partnership with six private estates/companies. These estates
include Lujeri Tea Estate, Eastern Produce (Malawi) Ltd. Makandi Tea and Coffee
Estates, Satemwa Tea Estate, Confornzi Plantations, and Zoa Tea Estate.

This change of partnership from government to private sector has two major
developments. To some Smallholder farmers this initiative has motivated them and they
have improved and increased tea production.15 Most of the farmers who have benefited
are those who have formed partnership with three major multinational companies namely
Lujeri Tea Estate, Eastern Produce Malawi Limited (EPM) and Makandi Tea and Cofee
Estates.

These three multinational companies engage the communities in some projects whose
main purpose is to increase the production capacity of smallholder farmers and to provide
the local growers with constant cash income throughout the year. The projects in question
include activities such like:

(a.) Provision of extension managers who visit the smallholder farmers and advise them
good agricultural practices. The lessons which the out-growers learn from these extension
managers include pest and disease identification/treatment, soil management, plucking
methods as well as general agricultural practices like weeding, pruning and how to
control soil erosion.

(b.) Organization of field days where smallholder farmers from different areas gather at
one farm to learn from or help their friend. Each and every month, some estates call all
its out-growers to one of smallholder gardens. After touring the garden, they discuss the
problems with the extension managers. There by, learning new things in the process.

(c.) Provision of farm inputs on loan. These include fertilizer, seedlings, pesticides and
other farm implements like hoes and cutting knives. These loans are paid through
deductions of payments of green leaf delivered to the particular private estate.

According to estate managers of Lujeri Estate, Eastern Produce and Makandi Tea and
Coffee Estates, these projects have helped the out growers in increasing their production.
For instance Makandi Estates’ Out Growers project has benefited a total of 351
smallholder farmers in increasing tea production as the table 1 below shows.

15
A Khoza Unpublished

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Table 2. Shows the Impact of Makandi Tea and Coffee Estates’ Out Growers Project
Year Kilograms

2003 935,200
2004 843,265
2005 978,725
2006 1,100,405
Source: Makandi Tea and Coffee Estates yearly records

However, field study noted that multinational companies only undertake these projects.
Out of 11 private companies only 3 have taken the above initiatives. Secondly, the
projects are not extended to all smallholder tea farmers but are limited to only farmers
who supply tea to these three companies. Therefore, for a smallholder farmer to benefit
from these services he/she must enter into partnership with these particular estates and is
required to sign a contract. These contracts in question makes the farmer to lose his
freedom of supplying green leaf to the company of his/her choice on whatever situation.16

The situation for the smallholder tea growers in Malawi is very interesting. Actually, they
don’t have a choice as far as prices for green leaf are concerned. For whatever quality or
variety, the buyers (all private estates) offer the same price. The current price (2008) is
MK 11.60 equivalent to US$ 0.082.

On the other hand, this change of partnership has affected many Smallholder farmers
negatively. Many of them could not manage to meet the cost of production. Therefore,
smallholder farmers depend solely on private estates to offer farm inputs (on loan) and to
sell their produce, thereby increasing their vulnerability to the vagaries of the market.
Unlike other farmers (tobacco/maize farmers) who enjoy government support in
subsidized farm inputs and price setting of their produce, tea growers bear all the cost of
production in full and government of Malawi does not intervene on price setting on their
behalf. Hence all the smallholder farmers we interviewed claim that they do not see the
benefits of growing tea.

2.2 Challenges Faced by Smallholder Farmers

a. Lack of Supply Chain Responsibility

This study found out that the smallholder farmers are ignorant of many purchasing
practices. Almost all farmers interviewed (96%) are not aware of quality and quality of
tea supplied annually to the buyer. They do not know pricing mechanism or terms of
trade. Moreover, the majority (92%) of smallholder tea farmers interviewed does not
know how much money is deducted from their payments as tax. Therefore, this implies
that the purchasing practices are not clear to smallholder farmers most of which are
illiterate.

16
Personal interview Management of Eastern Produce

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b. High Cost of Production
Since the dissolution of STA and privatization of MATECO the government of Malawi
no longer lender any support to tea industry. Smallholder farmers who joined
partnerships with private estates are compelled to bear all the cost of tea production, from
farm inputs to transportation of tea to the buying company. This demand, which could not
be met by the majority of Smallholders, has led to a very unhealthy relationship with the
buying companies i.e. private estates.

Unlike other crops like tobacco and cotton which enjoy government support in subsidized
inputs as well as government intervention in price setting, tea production receives no such
favours. Therefore smallholders farmers are compelled to ask for loans and credits from
their partners, the particular estate where they sell their tea. This loan is in form of farm
inputs such like, fertilizer, seedlings and chemicals.17However it must be noted that
private estates who offer loan and credits are in business. Their primary objective is to
make more profits. Therefore it is possible that these loans are exploitative considering
the fact that majority of smallholder farmers are illiterate. For instance the management
of Eastern produce said that they buy fertilizer and other farm inputs from abroad. So
when farmers get the loans stated above there are no subsides and farmers are expected to
pay tax and transportation costs of these farm inputs. However farmers interviewed
showed ignorance of the formula used to calculate tax and transportation costs stated
above. This observation implies that farm inputs which farmers get on loan from private
estates are more expensive than buying from local markets.

In Malawi Smallholder Farmers are very poor. Almost none has own transportation.18
This means that, farmers solely depend on buying company to offer them transport. This
scenario implies that the six private buyer/estates have to sent and collect green tea to
over 6000 Smallholder farmers. This situation is even worse during peak season and a lot
of farmers interviewed lament that their tea gets destroyed and could not be bought.

In order to reduce the cost of production, the Smallholders exclusively use family labour
in weeding, pruning, as well as picking. In this kind of situation it is very difficult to
exclude child labour. From the interviews, 80% of the farmers accepted that they use
their children even as young as 10 years of age in weeding, pruning and picking tea.
According to many of them, if a child is working after school, it is not child labour.

c. Lack of Collective Bargaining

Almost 80% of Smallholder farmers are illiterate or have low literacy level (did not go
beyond primary school). This is evident by lack of knowledge of market structures,
absence of business plans; they don’t even know their profit margins. The buyers take
advantage of this ignorance and exploit the Smallholders heavily. For instance, some
former estate clerks interviewed revealed that they used to cheat the farmers by adjusting

17
Personal interviews Tea estates and smallholder tea farmers, Paul Kachusa

18
Personal interviews Tea estates and smallholder tea farmers, Paul Kachusa

13
their scales. The implication is that a farmer who supply 100 kilogram’s of tea would get
the money for tea less than 80 kilograms.

This lack of knowledge above affects the farmers to the extent of not having the
bargaining power. 90% of the farmers interviewed showed no knowledge of other tea
growing countries or even where Malawian tea is exported. Most of them neither belong
to any association nor do they actively participate in any meeting affecting them. This
means that most smallholder farmers do not work collectively with other producers. No
wonder the Tea Association of Malawi Limited (TAML) a grouping of estate owners,
dictates the prices of green leaf bought from the Smallholder farmers.

d. Limited access to Markets

Since the dissolution of STA, Smallholder farmers are forced to sign contracts with
buying company. Unfortunately the research team was unable to see and assess the
contract papers due to unwillingness of estate managers. However, the implication is that
farmers are not free to sell their tea to any other company but to their partners only.

In Malawi, there is no single smallholder farmer who has a factory. All smallholder tea
farmers sell their green leaf to private estates that process and sell it at the auction. Hence
smallholders are easily cheated because they cannot deduce the processing cost nor could
they know prices of processed tea.

d. Low Tea Prices

The smallholders in Malawi started growing tea in 1960s’. This means that they have
been in business for over 40 years. From observation majority of them live below poverty
line (most of them still walking without shoes or could not afford a push bicycle.)
Although the prices of green unprocessed leaf change over time the quality and variety of
the leaf are not considered as a determinant of better price. The private estates demand
only 2 leaf and a bud from smallholders as a condition for buying their green leaf.
According to smallholder tea farmers, in Malawi they produce different types of tea
namely Superior cartivars and propagated clonal. Seedlings of these tea types has been
produced and provided by Mimosa Research Station in Mulanje district a Malawi Tea
Research Foundation (TRF) with funding from the European Union. Despite quality and
variety the price of green leaf is MK 11.60 equivalent to US$ 0.082 per kilogram of green
leaf delivered. And there is no premium for quality or variety of tea produced.19

All smallholders interviewed revealed that they have never visited the tea auction nor do
they know the prices of processed tea. This is because in Malawi smallholder farmers
have no factories. They only produce green leaf all of which is bought by private
companies. Hence it is the private companies who enjoy and understand what ever
happens at the auction. Interestingly all private tea companies/estates belong to Tea
Association of Malawi Limited (TAML).

From interviews this study establishes that tea prices are set by the Tea association of
Malawi; Industrial Relations Committee under which the private companies are major
19
Personal interviews, Smallholder farmers and Estate management

14
players. It is these private companies who determine the prices with no or little input
from smallholders. Although smallholder farmers have representatives at the pricing
committee, they are still ignorant of how the prices are set and they do not know the
factors that determine the changes in prices. Their representatives at the pricing
committee are not well empowered educationally and could not argue nor bargain
effectively with their buyers almost all of which are European Managers due to
inferiority complex. Hence the just accept everything offered even without consulting
other smallholder farmers.20All farmers interviewed felt that price of green tea they get
from private estates is very low and not in tandem with the cost of production. Hence,
they claim of not benefiting from tea growing at all.

e. Lack of Capital
Despite the fact that smallholder farmers play a very big role in the growth of Malawi
economy, local banks are very reluctant to assist these farmers with loan facilities. None
of the smallholders interviewed ever accessed a bank loan. One of the explanations to the
above observation is that, Smallholder farmers in Malawi are very poor with little or no
formal education. Hence banks doubt their ability of paying back the debts.21

f. Lack of Land
Lack of land for expansion is another challenge Smallholders face. On average
Smallholder tea grower has 0.4 hectares of tea, typically along side 1-1.5 hectares of
maize and other subsistence crops.22 The land is either personal (60%) or leased by the
government (40%). This piece of land yields around 1600 to 2500 kilogram’s of green
leaf equivalent to around US$150 per year minus the cost of production .i.e. fertilizer and
labour.

In Malawi Tea farms of less than one acre and up to five acres of land are/considered as
smallholders.

Table 3 Shows Land ownership by smallholder farmers

Sex of the farmer no idea < 1 acre 1.5 acres 2 acres 5 acres
Male 3 3 9 1 1
Female 1 3 0 3 0
Total 4 6 10 4 1
Source: Personal interviews smallholder farmers, Paul Kachusa

All smallholder farmers interviewed feel that they do not have enough land for
cultivation of tea and other crops.

20
21
Personal Interviews smallholder farmers Paul kachusa
22
Personal interviews smallholder tea farmers, Paul Kachusa

15
3.0 Activities of Local and Foreign Companies and their Impacts

3.1 Social Impacts

(i.) Employment
Statistical data on Malawi are in general poor and there is no single authentic source on
employment in various agricultural sub-sectors23. However, we cannot ignore the most
important impact of tea industry in Malawi, which is the provision of employment up to
70,000 people making it the largest organized employer of direct labour in private
sector24. For instance, Eastern Produce (EPM) the largest tea growing enterprise in the
country operating 15 plantations and 10 processing factories, employs 16,500 workers
during peak season and 13 000 in low season. Evaluation of National Statistics Office
Data on employment, offers no general demographic information on tea workers. It is
therefore, not possible to come up with gender or literacy levels of all tea plantation
workers in all estates.

According to ECAM (Child Labour Report) between 2004 and 2005, the Thyolo
district’s estates alone had a total labour force of not less than 30,425 people of whom 24,
373 were male and 6,052 were female.25 The figures for the Mulanje estates are more
systematic and comprehensive. They give a fuller picture of the size of the estate labour
force there:

Table 4: Size of Labour Force on Mulanje Tea Estates: July 1999 – June 2004
Year Male Female Total

1999/2000 36, 318 15, 007 51, 343

2000/2001 30, 526 9, 569 40, 095

2001/2002 21, 242 7, 624 28, 866

2002/2003 22,589 6, 350 28,938

2003/2004 31, 230 9, 377 40, 607

Source: ECAM Child Labour Report

There are 2 categories of employees in tea estates, namely temporary and permanent.
The majority of them are temporary employees. These are tea pluckers most of which are
casual labourers and they sign no contract. The table above indicates some major
variations in employment in the tea industry. The above figures suggest that there were
some major reductions in employment in the tea industry between mid-1999 and mid-
2003. The possible explanation of this reduction in employment is that there was drought
and acute famine during that period. The Majority of Malawian households survived on

23
ECAM Child Labour Report
24
Kitching, 2002
25
These figures are not complete. Comprehensive employment figures on the Thyolo estates
were not available at the time of this study

16
food aid from government and World Food Programme (WFP). Therefore, it is possible
that several people were busy searching for food than working in tea estates.

The employment situation picked up again between end 2003 and mid-2004. These
changes might have affected some specific categories of employees more than others.
Under normal circumstances, such volatility in the labour market would render
vulnerable social categories such as children, women, migrants, tenants, and other
minorities extremely susceptible to exploitative employment practices.26

(ii) Child Labour

The International Labour Organization ILO has estimated that 211 million children one
of every five children between 5-14 years are engaged in economic activities world wide
48 million of these live in sub-Saharan Africa and most of them work in agricultural
sector27. In recent years, Malawi has been seen as one of the worst countries in the
continent when it comes to child labour practices and attention has especially been
directed at tobacco growing sector. Less is known about the situation in other commercial
agricultural sector, as the tea sector, which is another major export sector in Malawi
economy. Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) has received reports on serious
incidents of child labour also in tea growing, but there is lack of systematic knowledge on
the situation.28

The respondents of the research did not indicate child labour in tea estates. According to
Tea Association of Malawi Limited (TAML) and Estates owners, the enterprise formally
does not hire anyone younger than 18 years. This is a policy for all tea estates dictated by
TAML in its employment practices and procedures which all tea estates are compelled to
follow29. Signs indicating the ban on child labour were observed in the premises of
almost all estates.30 However, In Malawi, tea estates in particular, it is very difficult to
access the extent of child labour.

The first reason is that, access to estates is limited. The nature of tea plantations, their
locations plus issues of robbery make them very frightening to visitors. Secondly it is
often claimed that tea estates are strong and well organized and have clever management
that easily hide the use of children. Although most interviews were conducted off-site and
without the consent of management, this study observed that, only 2 of the targeted
estates were taken by surprise. Thereafter, other estates were very cautious. Indications of
preparation for our visit were prevalent. Almost in all estates we could hardly find
workers in the field as expected and in other estates we could find workers assembled and
eagerly waiting for interviews. This observation is in line with what other researchers
found out that estate owners often alert each other if inspections are underway.31

26
ECAM Child Labour Report
27
ILO, 2002
28
Torres 2002; Eldring 2002)
29
WCE/TEA/1/2007
30
Personal Observation Paul Kachusa
31
Line Eldring 2002

17
The other major problem in Malawi is that there is no age registration in place. Therefore
one could easily be cheated that particular person is below or over 18 years of age.
Although child labour is either prohibited or concealed in estates, it is being used in
small-scale farmers who mostly depend on family labour. 20 of 25 smallholder farmers
interviewed revealed that children of school going ages help their parents in caring of tea
farms.32

(iii) Working hours

The normal hours of work on each estate is 48 hours per week or in shorter working week
the number of days worked multiplied by eight hours. Normally an adult employee not
employed on piece rate works eight hours a day excluding time taken to eat the cooked
food provided and any other statutory rest breaks.33

Due to illiteracy and the nature of work in Malawi tea estates, the majority of tea estate
workers do not know the number of hours they provide labour to the estates. See table
below.

Table 5. Shows number of hours per week

Describes the hours worked per week

Unlimited
Sex of worker 40 hours 48 hours 60 hours Do not know hours Total
Male 5 5 1 22 3 36
Female 1 3 0 8 1 13
Total 6 8 1 30 4 49
Source: Interviews with workers

The major reason behind this ignorance is illiteracy. The other reason is that in tea estates
number of hours is not a determinant for wages but the amount of tea collected. Therefore
it is possible that many people work many hours to reach the target demanded by the
estates. There are indications that tea estate workers work 40 to 60 hours a week. Worker
interviews reveal that for them to reach the targeted 44 kilograms they are compelled to
work for 8-9 hours a day. That means they work for over 40 hours a week (6 days a
week). All the workers interviewed feel that they do not get adequate wages to support
purchase of basic needs like food.

(iv.) Social Benefits

Tea estates provide free housing, health services, food and health insurance to contract
employees as non-monetary benefits. However, about 47% (23 of 49 interviewed) of the
employees have no access to any benefits from tea estates. 46% (22 of 49 interviewed) of
the tea plantation workers indicated that they are compensated if they work overtime. The
compensation is in the form of time off and cash.

32
Reported by G. Mothisa District Labour Officer, Mulanje. Also by Paul Kachusa MALAWI CARER
Paralegal report, Mulanje 2007,

33
Interview with District Labour Officer, Mulanje, Paul Kachusa 2007

18
a. Housing
Most plantation workers enjoy free housing offered by the private estates. These free
houses are offered only to contract/permanent workers. According to all workers
interviewed there is no possibility of becoming the owner of the company housing
facility. The seasonal and casual workers find their own accommodation. Most of these
workers are from nearby villages. Hence they commute from their homes. However the
conditions of these houses differed from one estate to the other. In big multinational
companies like Eastern Produce (MW) Ltd and Lujeri Tea Estates they have better
houses. But in local estate like Conforzi Plantations the conditions are very poor. See the
photo below.

Figure: 2 shows the nature of houses in tea estates

b. Food Security
All contract and seasonal workers enjoy free lunch while in the plantations. This lunch is
in form of maize flour (nsima) and beans. In multinational estates like Lujeri workers get
subsidized food stuffs like maize. However, many workers interviewed complained about
the substandard of the food offered while in the field. In many estates, the food offered is
always maize flour and beans and due to lack of plates, this food is offered in unhygienic
plastic packs which have the possibility of spreading diseases. As the photo indicates,
there are possibilities of growing food on designated plots by company.

19
c. Education
The tea industry supports education through various ways such as scholarships, bursaries,
and stipends and by providing funds to establish and improve schools near a plantation or
factory. Generally, primary school education is free in Malawi. The estates support these
primary schools by providing desks, books and building school blocks. But secondary
education is not free. Pupils are expected to pay $100 per academic year. Here is where
the estates came in and assist the community around the plantations with bursaries and
scholarships to outstanding pupils. According to estate managers of Eastern Produce and
Makandi Tea and Coffee Estates, these benefits are not only to the dependants of
plantation workers but are also spread to every child around the estates. However, the
estates did not provide any information or records of how many students have so far
benefited.

d. Health Services
The estates offer medical services or care to workers and other people from surrounding
areas. In Malawi patients pay for treatment when they visit health facilities that are not
run by government. However, the employees, their dependants and people from the
surrounding community access free medical services in the estates. From the estates’
management point of view these health services are free to every body (workers and non
workers). However, the capacity and the resources differ from one estate to the other.

Most plantations in both Mulanje and Thyolo have better clinics and they provide first
treatment before referring the patients to government hospitals. Indeed some of these
estate clinics have better facilities, equipment and qualified personnel than government
hospitals. For example, Lujeri Tea Estates Ltd. has the possibility of scanning cancer, a
thing most hospitals can not manage in Malawi.34

On the other hand local registered estates do not have adequate resources for them to
offer medical care to its own employee let alone people from surrounding areas. Lack of
medicine and qualified personnel was noted in some these estates. One of the most
important observations was the availability of ambulance services in all estates. This
means that despite the fact that most estates have inadequate resources, patients reach
government hospitals on time.

e. Capacity building
Majority of estate workers has no opportunity for upward mobility. 94% of the
employees in the tea estates have had no access to capacity building initiatives provided
by the employers. The only training offered is in the areas of tea harvesting methods.
Observations and interviews indicated that only people in high position such like
accountants, managers and agricultural advisers are considered for in service training. For
instance, Lujeri Tea Estate sent 5 managers to India to learn what their counterparts do.

34
Personal observation Paul Kachusa

20
None from lower position (from clerks to plantation workers) has the opportunity of
improving the skills and livelihood through education or training.

(v.) Occupation Health and Safety

Despite the claim that Free healthcare is provided to all workers permanent and seasonal
as well as the surrounding communities, not all the plantations have enough resources to
help workers and surrounding areas. The problem of poor health and safety conditions
could be noticed in small estates especially those managed by local people. For instance
we observed that at Conforzi Plantations the sanitation was very poor. Almost hundred
people have only one pit latrine at their disposition hence most people use nearby bushes
in relieving themselves. There by, increasing the chances of spreading diseases like
Cholera among workers. Although poverty is wide spread in Malawi, a normal situation
is at least a pit latrine for every household. However this study could not assess the
impact of the above situation on product quality.

Most of the estates we visited had sound policies on health and occupation safety which
include accident reporting, specific safety rules and regulations, safety checklist safety
equipment and good house keeping. But reality on the ground points to the contrary. Tea
plucking is hazardous work, resulting in back pains because it entails carrying a basket at
the back for more than 8 hours in a day. Workers who cultivate and pluck tea are exposed
to pesticides and insecticides, insects like mosquitoes and poisonous snakes35.
Unfortunately this study does not have information on the kind of pesticide or fertilizers
used and how often it is used. However In most estates workers could be seen in
plantations without protective clothes. (See photo below)

Figure 3: shows plantation workers without protective gear

35
Personal interviews Paul Kachusa

21
The Tea Association of Malawi advises its members to follow conditions set aside before
issuing any protective gear. One of the clauses in conditions of service states that: one
must work for a period of time before he/she gets a protective gear. 36 This implies that
workers are firstly exposed to harm before they get the protection.

There is evidence by the statistics from ministry of health, which says that chronic
malnutrition in Thyolo and Mulanje is among the highest in Malawi, and in Africa, with
49% of children under the age of five with stunted mental and physical development.
Despite, 17% of the population of Malawi are children, infant mortality is very high.
Chronic malnutrition results from the effects of food shortages, recurrent infections, and
poor care practices, and can have multi-generation effects.

Due to low wages among laborers, women who in most cases cannot afford daily
provisions indulge in prostitution. Absolute poverty as observed among estate workers
forces many women use sex in order to get basic needs, such like food and clothing. This
behavior has brought in HIV/AIDS, which has devastated a lot of households in the
plantations. Men too played a role in the spread of the disease. According to MSMC
labour Document, senior employees such like Kapitaos coerce women into sexual
relationships in exchange for better payment and promotion or lighter work.

Food insecurity is also a prevalent condition for large portions of the population, but is
severe among the most vulnerable groups: female-headed households, smallholder
farmers with insufficient and poor quality land, rural laborers, and orphans who have lost
one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. These affected communities find themselves much
more vulnerable to economic, climactic, and personal crises. This situation is
compounded by a high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS, which has decimated the labor
force and raised the household dependency ratio. Additionally, HIV/AIDS has created
large numbers of “demographically vulnerable” groups, which are defined as households
lacking adult labor, elderly-headed households and child-headed households. The decline
of social capital in poor communities has exacerbated the vulnerability of these
households.

With a 2001 national seroprevalence rate of 15% that is likely to decline slowly over the
next 10 years given current sexual behavior patterns, Malawi is facing severe
demographic, social, economic, and political consequences from the HIV/AIDS epidemic
for at least the next three decades. In the view of many HIV/AIDS experts, the ability to
deliver prevention, care, treatment, and impact mitigation services on a national scale is
absolutely critical to the future social and economic stability of the country.

(vi.) Harassment and Discrimination

There are number of cases of sex abuse and discrimination in the estates and the victims
are women. Many women employees in tea estates have ever been sexually harassed and
discriminated.37 However it is very difficult to come up with the percentage because most
of such cases are not reported.

36
The Tea Association of Malawi; WCE/TEA/1/2007
37
Personal interviews Tea estates and smallholder tea farmers, Paul Kachusa 2007

22
The most common problem for women in Malawi is discrimination. Almost in all tea
estates, very few women are in management positions. Even at Tea Association of
Malawi offices, only one woman who works as a receptionist was seen. In tea estates
women are employed as tea-pluckers or messengers. The highest position observed
during interviews was that of a nurse at EPM Clinic. In plantations women meet
reluctance to get employment. When they fall pregnant they lose their jobs and all the
terminal benefits like pension and gratuity which they were entitled.38

Harassment is another problem faced by women in plantations. Since women occupy the
lowest level in the employment hierarchy they are easily coerced into sexual relationships
with their seniors, in exchange for better payment, promotion or lighter work.39 In some
cases, male managers demand sex as a precondition for employing a woman. However,
Malawians have a culture of silence on sex and sexuality. Hence sexual harassment issues
are not discussed in public and most of them go unreported. Therefore it is very difficult
to measure or evaluate the extent of this problem.40

3.2 Economic impact

Despite the fact that Malawians have been in commercial tea industry for over 100 years,
plantation workers and smallholder farmers are the poorest in the production chain and
almost 80% live below poverty line. However, Multinational companies such as Eastern
Produce (Malawi) Limited (EPM), Lujeri Tea Estates and Makandi Tea and Coffee
Estates make a lot of profits. For instance, at Lujeri Tea Estates we noticed state of the art
machinery at Broomfield factory wealth millions of dollars. A visit at EPM and Makandi
estates revealed expensive 4×4 luxury cars driven by the management. Yet a lot of
plantation workers and smallholder farmers could not afford a pair of plastic shoes.

(i.) Smallholder farmers

As discussed above in the smallholder section, smallholder farmers in Malawi claim not
to benefit from tea farming. The price of green leaf which is uniform through out the
industry is very low and does not cover the cost of production. In 2007 the price of green
leaf was at MK 11.60 (US$ 0.082) per kilogram while a 50 kilogram bag of fertilizer
was approximately at MK 4,000 (US$ 28.57) This implies that for a farmer to buy 50
kilograms of fertilizer, has to deliver 350 kilograms of green leaf to a buying company.
According to Amstrong Khoza41 the average annual smallholder production per hectare is
900 kilogram. However majority of smallholder tea farmers has less than a hectare of
land. This means that 3/4 of the annual income is spent just on fertilizer. Therefore,

38
Personal Interviews, workers, Paul Kachusa 2007
39
MSMC Labour Document
40
Malawi Police Victim Support Unit, Mulanje, Malawi CARER legal clinic, Mulanje report, 2007

41
Chairman National Smallholder Tea Development Committee Malawi

23
majority of smallholder farmers could not afford to meet other costs of production like
labour, pesticides, and transportation.

Instead of offering price premium for quality and variety of green leaf delivered by
smallholder farmers, the private estates give annual bonuses to farmers. However these
bonuses are not uniform or constant. A particular private estate decides what to give its
out-growers depending on the profits realized at the tea auction.

It takes between 4-5 weeks before small holder tea farmers can accesses payments from
tea sales. The buyers determine the price of tea. The prices for green leaf are not
constant. All smallholder farmers interviewed do not know what makes price fluctuate.
But the estate owners all of which belong to the TAML and are major players in price
setting say that auction profits determines the prices for green leaf and bonuses offered to
the smallholder farmers.

76% (19) of smallholder tea farmers do not realize any benefits or profits of growing tea.
The benefits in tea farming include; ability to build houses, buy food and sending
children to good schools. Although most of the smallholders started growing tea long
time ago (some 40 years ago) they are still very poor. Most of the growers interviewed
asserted that they struggle to buy basic needs like food and clothing. Some were even
observed wearing torn clothes. In Malawi it is very difficult to understand why people
still cling to agricultural production even when it is unprofitable. One of the explanations
is that most Malawians are illiterate (have no formal education) they cannot find
employment. Hence most people take farming as part of life.

Most smallholder tea farmers that were interviewed compliment their income from tea by
growing bananas and sometimes by also growing maize, pineapples and cassava. A few
smallholders were also working for other smallholders.

48% of the decisions on how to use proceeds from tea farm are made by both spouses. 44
of the men are decision makers on how to use tea proceeds and only 8% of the decisions
are solely made by women. However, the sample size for women in the study is small
and hence it is difficult to make definite conclusions from such a small sample size.

(ii.) Plantation workers

Actually, work on the tea plantations is highly intensive; however in Malawi wages are
very low. In all estates the basic wage for timework for all daily rated employees is US$
0.72 (MK101.00) per day42. The plucking rate seasonal and casual worker is as low as
MK2.29 per kg of green leaf plucked. The minimum wage in tea estates is 25 US$ (Mk
3500) and maximum is 35.7 US$ (Mk 5000) per month. For workers on temporary
employment, they get 0.72 US$ (Mk101.00) per day, which translates to about 21.64 US$
(MK 3030) per month. The wages are determined by the Tea Association of Malawi
Limited in which plantation workers have no representation.

42

24
It is very surprising to note that all Estates foreign and local follow the same practices as
far as wages, terms and conditions of employment are concerned. The possible
explanation for this similarity is that it seems like the Tea Association of Malawi forces
all estates to conform or risk isolation. However it must be noted that the problem is not
for the Tea Association or Estate owners alone for coming up with low wages. The
government of Malawi also share the blame for enacting labour registration that put
minimum wage as low as 0.39 US$ a day.43 Hence the members of tea association only
utilize this loophole and nobody could take them to task.

(iii.) Other sources of family income in Tea estates

This study found out that most estate workers have no any other means of income apart
from wages. See table below

Table 6

Describes other sources of family income Total

Describes the sexof no other loan from other farming & selling
worker source people vegetables
Male 34 1 1 36
Female 13 0 0 13
Total 47 1 1 49
Source Personal Interviews, estate workers

(iv.) Ability of the tea estate workers to save the money

The majority (92%) of workers in tea estates is unable to save money for future use. The
employees, who save money, save between Mk50 and Mk1000.00 equivalent to US$
0.36 and US$ 7.14 respectively.

3.3 Environmental impact

(i.) Agrochemicals

a. Pesticides
According to tea estates, as well as Tea Association of Malawi, Malawi tea is free of
chemical and pesticides. But they failed to elaborate on measures that are in place in
order to ensure that farmers are not applying dangerous chemicals nor could they give
much information on the required types and amount of pesticides to be applied on
particular problem. Despite the claim that the use of agrochemical is restricted in Malawi
tea industry a lot of estates still use pesticides in saving their trees from insects (e.g.
mosquitoes) that destroy tea and other fruit trees in the estates.44 Workers were seen with
sprayers a vindication that pesticides are still used in estates.

43
Information provided by Mr. G. Mothisa, District Labour Officer, Mulanje
44
Personal interviews Tea estates and smallholder tea farmers, Paul Kachusa 2007

25
In smallholder sector, the use of pesticides is very minimal. Majority (90%) of
smallholder tea farmers is very poor and could not afford to buy pesticides. However, a
good number of smallholder farmers have access to pesticides especially those benefiting
from out-growers projects undertaken by multinational companies. Unfortunately, this
study does not have information about the amount of pesticide applied to tea by
smallholders or large plantations. The majority of workers and smallholders has low
levels of education and as such does apply dangerous chemicals without understanding
the effects of the chemical being used to their health and environment.45

b. Fertilizers
In order to boost tea production, growers use organic and inorganic fertilizers. The
chemical mostly used in tea estates or plantation is inorganic fertilizer. This study has no
information on the type and amount of fertilizers applied in tea plantations. 21 of the 25
smallholder tea farmers interviewed conceded the use of inorganic fertilizers. They obtain
these inorganic fertilizers on loan from private estates. 12 of the 25 smallholder tea
farmers also apply organic fertilizer (manure) to tea. There is increase in production
when organic and inorganic fertilizers are combined. All (25) tea smallholder farmers
feel using chemicals on the farms destroys the ecosystem and make soils more acidic or
basic depending on the type of fertilizers used on the farms. Private estates especially
multinationals like Makandi have been encouraging its out-grower to use more manure
than inorganic fertilizers. However, the management of the said estate reveal that the
above initiative was received coldly and smallholder farmers still prefers inorganic
fertilizer than manure.

c. Agrochemicals and Food Safety

One of the important developments in Malawi tea production is the insistence on food
safety. Of late large estates have been sending personnel to India and Kenya to be trained
in Hazard Assessment on Critical Control Points (HACCP programme) and quality
management systems. One of such estates is Lujeri in Mulanje. This estate has embarked
on HACCP training to all smallholders who supply tea. Five managers have been
entrusted with this task in Mulanje district.46 This study has no information on food
safety in small estates and other smallholder farmers.

(ii.) Waste Management

Waste Management is one of the biggest problems in Malawi. Solids like metal, plastics
and glass among other things are thrown anyhow. Heaps of solids could be noticed
everywhere from backyards to rubbish pits. Apart from burning/burying, Malawians do
not take the trouble of recycling the solid wastes. The tea industry is not exceptional.
On waste management, the estates visited only indicated plans of constructing dams
where water from tea farms and factories would be treated to remove toxic substances.
But nothing was said on what they are doing right now.
45
Personal interviews with labour office in Mulanje, Paul Kachusa 2007

46
Personal interview, Managing Director, Lujeri Tea Estate

26
 (iii.) Natural Resources
Lack of land for cultivation of different crops has greatly contributed to environmental
degradation in Mulanje and Thyolo. In these districts, land is a contentious issue. Almost
85% of land, is used by companies who own tea plantations. Then only 15% is shared
among more than 6500 smallholder tea growers. The rest is marginal land. Therefore
people are forced to cut down trees in marginal areas like Mulanje Mountain and
surrounding hills in order to cultivate other crops.47 Some people are forced to engage in
alternative sources of income, which are detrimental to environment such like cutting
down of trees make Charcoal or sell as firewood.

d. Measures applied to conserve the environment

56% (14 of 25) tea farmers interviewed are conserving the environment by making box
ridges, constructing waterways, marching and firebreaks. Box ridges and water ways help
in reducing running water and reduce soil erosion. Firebreaks help in reducing bush fires
which are very common in Malawi especially during dry season. 44% of the farmers are
not practicing any soil conservation method.

Table 7 Soil Conservation measures in tea Farms

Soil conservation measures in tea farms

Gender of respondents Waterways box ridges
and box and fire
waterways box ridges ridges Marching breaks None
Male 5 3 2 3 2 10
Female 2 3 0 0 1 1
Total 7 6 2 3 3 11
Source: Personal Interviews Smallholder farmers; Paul Kachusa

Mimosa Tea Research station did a lot in helping farmers in conserving the environment.
Farmers were advised to plant vegetative cover like grass and trees in around their field.
These have helped in controlling soil erosion.

47
Tea Association of Malawi : intergrated Framework 2002

27
4.0 TEA ASSOCIATIONS AND TRADE UNIONS

4.1 Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

Although freedom of association as stipulated in the Constitution of Malawi is recognized
by the Tea association of Malawi and all estates, there is no effective trade union in the
sector to effectively bargain for the welfare of tea workers.

In this sector there are two rival trade unions namely Plantation and Agriculture Workers
Union (PAWU) and Tea, Coffee and Macadamia Workers union (TECOMA). These two
rival camps do not work together but instead compete with each other for members. For
instance, there is a great difference in membership fee. PAWU is MK45.00 while
TECOMA is as low as MK15.00. Members could either belong to PAWU or Tea Coffee
and macadamia groups at a time and not both. This study has no background information
(policies, membership and coverage) about these unions. Although Tea, Coffee and
Macadamia Workers Union claim to have 15000 members the reality on the ground is
Different. Unlike the Tea Association of Malawi Limited (TAML) which is very well
organized, both PAWU and TECOMA up to now are still struggling to get to get a
foothold within the tea sector.48

This observation is strengthened by the fact that, it was only at Makandi Tea and Coffee
Estates where we noticed the existence of the said unions. But in all estates we visited we
were compelled to meet with the Joint Consultative Committees instead of the union.
According to TAML, the existence of two competing trade unions within the sector has
hampered all the efforts of formulating and signing of collective bargaining agreement
between the unions and the tea association. Hence the Tea Association of Malawi took
advantage of this situation and advised its members to set up Joint Consultative
Committees in their estates. However, this study establishes that the tea industry is very
reluctant to accept and recognize the trade union in the estates. This is evident by the way
managers in tea estates, and the officials at TAML demonstrate disrespect and sarcasm at
the unions. For example the Management of Eastern Produce called PAWU as a
disgruntled family grouping of the TECOMA union leader and her Brother in laws not a
union. This means that the JCC has diffused the power of the two trade unions. Hence
trade unions in tea sector are just on paper and all tea estates in Malawi up to now
continue to use JCC as a bridge between management and employee.49

However the structures of JCC are very weak and these committees are not independent,
transparent and could not take management to account for certain actions50 because
membership is based on the loyalty of an individual towards the management. Hence
members cannot speak out freely and there is fear among the members because they do
not know who is working for the administration within their ranks.

48
Line Eldring 2002
49
Observation and interviews with management and employees at tea estates
50
Unknown Writer, Tea Industry Case Study of Mary Mkumba: Supporting the engagement of rights
holders groups in holding duty bears to account

28
 RECOMMENDATIONS
There is a great need to embark on a coordinated advocacy campaigns to address most of
the issues raised in the report regarding the conditions:

1. There is great need to advocate for the rights of the workers. Most of them have
heard about human rights but have scanty knowledge as what exactly human
rights are. As such they do not know what to do when their rights are violated.
CARER believes that a comprehensive and coordinated civic education campaign
on human and labourers rights can address the gap and empower the workers in
tea estates to start demanding for their rights whenever there are violations.

2. We recommend that Sensitization meetings be held in the near future with

National Labour and Workers Unions on the plight of tea workers in the tea
industry and how they can intervene. These Unions would also be encouraged to
be monitoring the work and performance of workers union in the tea industry.

29
 References
Diagnostic trade integration study-Malawi, 2002
ECAM Child Labour Report (Final)
Engaged to Tea 1976: Newsletter for Tea in Malawi, 1, 7-9
Khoza A. (Unpublished) An Overview of Smallholder Tae Development in Malawi
Malawi Tea 2002: Newsletter for tea industry, 2, 7-16
Malawi Tea 2007: Newsletter for tea industry, 2, 4-11
MCMS Labour Document
National Statistical Office database on agriculture (2006)
New Dehli Declaration on the rights of Tea Workers and Small Growers, 15 December
2005:http://www.labourfile.org/archiveNewsMore.aspx?NId=86
Personal interviews Tea estates and smallholder tea farmers, Paul Kachusa

30