Zimbabwe: 'Tobacco Season Toughest Ever'

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) 3 October 2008 10/07/2008

The Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA) said yesterday that this year's tobacco marketing season has proved to be the toughest ever faced by farmers. The chairman, Mr Wilfanos Mashingaidze told New Ziana that farmers encountered serious problems last season, which threatens the sector if not addressed. "All stakeholders should carry a post mortem of the past season which has proved to be the toughest ever," Mr Mashingaidze said. He said efforts by farmers to plant tobacco were being hampered by low returns after selling the crop. "What we are getting after selling our crop is not viable for one to prepare for the coming season, let alone look after our families," he said. He said that more farmers were likely to withdraw and venture into other crops if their challenges were not tackled. The interbank exchange rate being used was not viable for farmers to transport their crop, he said, a development that had seen most farmers withholding their tobacco. He added that costs incurred in transporting and packing the crop was wiping all the hard-earned money. "Transporting a bale from Centenary, for example, would see a farmer forking out more than $20 000," he said. On Monday week, the inter-bank exchange rate was $118 per US$1, which would amount to $41 300 for an average bale weighing 70kgs, traded at an average price of US$5. Mr Mashingaidze said when the selling season started, the exchange rate was better but became stagnant towards the end of the season. He said more than one million kilograms of tobacco were yet to be delivered to the auction floors. "The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board should assist farmers in transporting the crop, as the country risks losing millions of dollars," he added. However, Mr Mashingaidze said preparations for the coming season were being affected by shortage of inputs, chief among them aluminium nitrate fertilizer used in top-dressing tobacco seedlings. He added that in the past farmers would get inputs before 01 October. Mr Mashingaidze said there was need for a holistic approach towards revitalising the sector which is among the country's top foreign currency earners. While over 70 million-kg of flue-cured tobacco had been sold by this time last year, just over 44 million kg had been sold by the close of this year's selling season last Friday. Enditem