President Lazarus Chakwera says the country needs to transition from a tobacco based economy and has tasked the Ministry of Agriculture to roll out consultations with relevant stakeholders aimed at identifying a viable crop that can substitute tobacco. Speaking on Tuesday when he officially opened the 2021 Tobacco Marketing Season at Lilongwe Auction Floors, Chakwera said it was high time the country explored other crops like industrial hemp to replace tobacco, the country’s main strategic crop wh ich rakes in about 60 percent foreign currency earnings. He said the future for the tobacco industry looks b leak because of international anti-smoking lobbies which are leading to a decline in tobacco trade.