Zimbabwe Hosts Tobacco Growers'' Indaba

Source from:  The Herald  06/06/2013

Zimbabwe is hosting the International Tobacco Growers' Association Africa meeting which starts in Harare today.

More than 20 delegates from member countries - Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania - are expected to attend the meeting.

Zimbabwe is now Africa's largest producer contributing over 45 percent of the continent's production. The importance of tobacco to Zimbabwe's total economic empowerment cannot be overlooked.

The meeting is expected to discuss countering national and international anti-tobacco growing campaigns, facilitate networking of tobacco growers worldwide, sharing of non-competitive information about tobacco and strategies to stabilise supply and prices and publicising the socio-economic importance of tobacco in terms of employment, agricultural development and national economic benefits among other things.

Zimbabwe Tobacco Association president Mr Adrian Swales said the ITGA was formed to provide a collective voice on an international and national scale to ensure the long-term security of tobacco markets.

"Tobacco growers worldwide share similar problems, threats and challenges regardless of the size of their production,.

"It is for this reason that the ITGA defends every tobacco farmer to ensure that the intricacies of and challenges to his activity are justly considered by international decision-makers," he said.

Mr Swales said the ITGA policies and activities are developed by tobacco farmers, represented by their countries, farmer organisations, regional leaf marketing boards and tobacco institutions to further their interests.

The regional meeting will open today and delegates tomorrow are expected to familiarise themselves with local tobacco institutions. Enditem