‘Crop War’ between Malawi and Tanzania

News:

On Friday, May 2, 2025, Tanzania’s Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Bashe and his Malawian counterpart, Sam Kawalenga held a bilateral meeting in Dodoma aimed to resolve a trade dispute that had restricted the import of agricultural produce between the two countries. (The Citizen 03/05/2025)

Comment:

The two countries entered into a trade war on April 2025 following the Malawian government ban on the importation of agricultural products (crops) from Tanzania.
Tanzania government hit back the ban on 23/04/2025 and lifted it on 26/04/2025 after two days. Malawi barred entry of several agricultural goods from Tanzania, including flour, rice, ginger, bananas, and maize.

On imports from Malawi, Tanzania prohibited the importation of all agricultural goods including apples, oranges, and others. The war has severely disrupted the livelihoods of both Tanzanian and Malawian traders, exporters, and mostly poor people who rely on this trade for their survival and access to food and markets.

This ‘crop war’ indicates a great deal of negligence and recklessness of capitalist politicians and their governments. Inspite of severe consequences on both sides from the said ban, both states do not consider the local vendors, disruption of cross border trade, and effects ordinary people’s lives, thus why both governments were childishly engaging in ‘tit for tat’ measures regardless of the consequences. Small vendors from Malawian Karonga town told the BBC on 25/04/2025 that; “tonnes of their products slowly rotting, then being dumped after denied entry into Tanzania.” Similar scenarios took place on tonnes of tomatoes and bananas from Tanzania that ultimately spoiled at the border checkpoint.

This ‘crops war’ is a product of long ongoing conflict between Malawi and Tanzania due to the Western imposed colonial borders. Both countries are periodically involved in the Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) border dispute since their flag independence from the Britain in the 1960’s.

Colonial drawn borders left a harsh reality with severe effects to African states making them grapple with numerous economic, diplomatic as well militarily violence that caused huge destructions.

To radically solve cross border trade dispute such as this, total elimination of the Western capitalist ideology is needed that created such disputes, replacing it with Islam under its Khilafah (Caliphate) state, via its landmark liberation would be achieved in the Islamic world and other developing nations including those in the Africa continent.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Said Bitomwa
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Tanzania