Zimbabwe: Production of 'Gold Leaf' Needs Due Attention

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) 05/28/2004

TOBACCO is Zimbabwe's major foreign currency earner and as such anything to do with the sector's welfare has a large bearing on overall economic performance. The crop, commonly referred to as the gold leaf, accounts for at least 35 percent of total exports and has provided a lucrative avenue for many recently resettled farmers. Reports since the beginning of the season have indicated that production figures for this season will be much lower than the previous year due to a myriad of reasons. Production is expected to plummet from 82 million kilogrammes last season to 60 million kg. This is cause for concern. But what has impressed the buyers is the high quality of the crop produced by the usually heavily criticised new farmers. The firming prices, which are averaging US$2,00 per kilogramme are, indeed, reflective of the improvements in quality. This is highly commendable, but we should not lose sight of the fact that the more kilogrammes we sell, the better the earnings. Thus, every effort needs to be put in place by the Government and all stakeholders to ensure that production of the crop improves significantly. Sometimes we get the impression that the issue is not given the attention it deserves given the crop's importance to the national economic well-being. So much needs to be done and a lot of issues, which include the provision of inputs such as seed, chemicals and coal should be ironed out to ensure production levels improve. The sector still has potential to produce 200 million kg per season as was the case a few years ago. This is no mean task, but we feel it is achievable if everything falls into place. The country has so many commercial and newly resettled farmers who have ventured into the crop big time and production figures could soon start reflecting this once outstanding issues are addressed. The tobacco expo, scheduled for early next month, will provide a platform through which all involved in the sector will meet and discuss the way forward. Suppliers of inputs such as chemicals and fertilisers, technical and research services providers, leaf merchants and contracting companies are some of the stakeholders expected to attend the meeting. The expo is, thus, expected to yield positive results. So much has happened in the sector over the past year, including the introduction of contract farming, a highly successful mode of production in countries such as Brazil, hence, the need for the stakeholders to meet and explore strategies that best suit the changing landscape in the sector. A few problems have been encountered this season under the contract scheme and these need to be nipped in the bud. Some contractors failed to meet their obligations in the provision of adequate inputs, but have demanded that all the crop be sold to them. Although there have been interventions by the Government and other parties to redress the issue, the expo provides a proper platform to revisit the scheme. Zimbabwe's tobacco offers a special brand that is in demand on the international market and it is incumbent upon the industry to ensure it satisfies the market. It will be a sad day for our country if the sector fails to capitalise on this. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has also noted the problems in the sector with concern given the importance of the crop in harnessing the much-needed foreign currency. "As Monetary Authorities, however, we remain worried that the nation runs the risk of missing critical land preparation and/or seedbed preparation timetables for irrigated tobacco crop unless all stakeholders charged with the responsibility collectively move with speed to source and provide farmers with inputs. "We believe that it would be a tragedy of enormous proportions if we fail to turnaround our economy on the back of a promising year in as far as the weather is concerned," said Reserve Bank governor Dr Gideon Gono. These words should compel the tobacco industry to get things going. Enditem