Tobacco Farmers Not Worried About Competition

Source from:  Guardian By George Michael 04/05/2005

Tobacco produce from Tanzania is of high quality, which enables it to compete in international markets with the produced from other countries, crop stakeholders affirm in Tabora. Ally Abeid, a tobacco farmer in the region, said this in an interview on his farm recently. "Tobacco produced in Tanzania is of high quality, meaeting international standards. This enables it to compete with tobacco produced in countries like Brazil. Agricultural experts (agronomists) from Brazil have confirmed that Tanzanian tobacco is of high quality as it has orange colour, which is the best. One such expert is Enio Carlos Signoz, an agronomist from Brazil who was in the region at the time. Tobacco is the main economic undertaking in Tabora, and it contributes significantly to the improvement of the living standards of the people of Tabora. There is an association which is dealing with the development of the crop. The Association of Tanzania Tobacco Traders (ATTT) uses the services of foreign and local experts advising farmers on how to keep their farms in a good condition and increase the quality of tobacco. Farmers are adviced to adhere to methods explained by experts so as to improve production. "Fertilizer should be used to get quality production of tobacco," they urge. The main challenge which tobacco farmers face is overdependence on rain-fed agriculture and the use of the hand-hoe. It is hindering the development of tobacco farming as farmers should at least use ploughs in cultivating their farms. They need tractors so as to expand production, in which case the provision of tractor loans so as to modernize farming and enhance productivity is required, the farmers said. "There is absolutely no problem with marketing tobacco. It is the tradition that the market will not be closed until every tobacco leaf has been bought," said Ally Abeid, a tobacco farmer. Tobacco is produced in Urambo, Sikonge, Nzega, Kahama, Mpanda, Rukwa, Mbeya and Manyoni. "The condition of tobacco could have been good this year, but it has been affected by drought. Therefore, this year production will not be as good as last year," he stated. The feeling wasn't shared by other stakeholders, with some experts affirming that an even bigger crop is likely this year. ATTT has trained 12,500 farmers and the training is still going on. Species of trees such as acacia, mangiam and eucalyptus have been planted since 1993. Drought has adversely affected the growth of the trees and due to that aspect, about 75 percent of the planted trees grew or blossomed, the farmers noted. Enditem