Zimbabwe: Tobacco Growers Plant 90pc of Targeted Hectarage

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) 17 January 2008 01/18/2008

Tobacco farmers have managed to plant 90 percent of the targeted 60 000 hectares for the 2007/2008 season in the face of heavy water-logging. Tobacco Industry Marketing Board acting chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said 57 000 hectares had been put under tobacco so far. He said the figure could be higher since he was still receiving further statistics. Early indications were that some farmers were still planting weeks after the planting deadline. Normally tobacco farmers are supposed to plant their crop before December 31 each year. Turning to the condition of the planted crop, Dr Matibiri said, as was the case with other crops, most of the tobacco had been affected by water-logging. The crop, he said, had also been affected by weeds as the incessant rains that were failing all over the country were hampering weeding operations. In addition, he said, tobacco farmers were also struggling to acquire ammonium nitrate fertilizer for top-dressing pur- poses. In instances where farmers had the fertilizer, there were reports that they were facing difficulties in applying the fertilizer as it was being washed away by the excessive rains. A report released around the 21st of last month indicated that Mashonaland Central had the biggest cumulative hectarage of 16 074ha, followed by Mashonaland East with 12 966ha, Mashonaland West with 12 647ha, Manicaland with 6 524ha, Midlands 45ha and Masvingo 15ha. At the time a total of 48 271 hectares had been put under tobacco represent- ing 80 percent of the targeted 60 000 hectares. The report noted that the northern tobacco growing districts were being hampered by serious shortage of basal fertilizer with others opting for Compound D which is not appropriate. The report also cited cases of false ripening in Seke district due to the current incessant rains, with leaching reducing crop quality. A total of 495 kg of tobacco seed has been sold by the end of September - an all-time record for the country. Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono, who has dubbed this summer cropping season the "Mother of all Agricultural Seasons", increased foreign currency retention allowances to 100 percent for all exporting growers. The governor has indicated that the central bank would continue to support tobacco farmers through delivery bonus schemes that not only reflect production costs but reasonable allowance for favourable profit returns to farmers as well. During the last selling season, tobacco farmers benefited from an initial Government support price of $40 000, calculated on a pro rata basis benchmarked at US$1,50 per kg, which was increased to $55 000 per kg towards the end of the season. The Government has set a production target of 120 million kilogrammes of tobacco for this year. Enditem