Tanzania: Tobacco Productivity Up

Source from:  AllAfrica.com 07/21/2010

Tobacco output per hectare rose from 600 kilos in 2000 to 1.3 tonnes last year, says a crop processing company. "The growth has resulted in an increase in incomes for growers per hectare to Sh3.2 million from Sh934,500 in 2003," Alliance One Tobacco Tanzania Ltd (AOTTL) managing director Graham Kayes said in a statement recently. According to him, the productivity rose because farming had been modernised. The company offered oxen, ploughs and other implements to farmers. To ensure that farmers access funds and agricultural inputs, AOTTL has been supplying tobacco seeds to its contracted farmers. However, this year the growers are sourcing their inputs using credits from banks. An average of hectares under tobacco cultivation rose to 2.26 hectares from 1.2 hectares per farmer. Yields increased to 1.47 tonnes per hectare from 1.061 tonnes. Enditem