Tanzania: Tobacco Growers Vow to Boycott TZ

Source from:  The Citizen (tz)  12/24/2012

Tobacco growers in Mara Region are in desperation of falling prices and lack of a reliable market for their harvest, whereby they have threatened to export their harvest to neighbouring Kenya if authorities fail to take appropriate measures to rescue the situation.

This was said during the growers' annual general meeting here recently.

They said the crop's price in Kenya was better than in the country, saying the trend was unhealthy for the economy given the fact that they inject a lot of money in the cash crop.

The growers said their request to the government to monitor tobacco marketing fell on deaf ears as nothing was done, instead they find themselves in the position of having to look for their own market.

They expressed their desperation by insisting that if the government takes no move to change the situation, they were even prepared to use illegal means to ship their harvests outside to fetch better prices.
Mr Joseph  Ochieng', a tobacco  grower from Rorya District, said the government must supervise the buying of  tobacco and protect interests of growers, including ensuring crop dealers pay them on time.

The tobacco board representative, Mr Stanley Mnozya, said that since Mara Region was now allowed to undertake tobacco farming there was the need for stakeholders to obey rules and regulations that guide the crop.

He said the laws and regulations including buying system of tobacco as well as registration of tobacco growers to the board to enable growers and other stakeholders to work together for the benefit of society and the country at large.

Mr Mnozya said that from the coming season 2013/14 agricultural inputs for tobacco will be available in the country instead of the previous season's arrangement when they were provided by AOTTL company. Enditem