adminSenior Reporter
THE quality of next season tobacco crop in some parts of Manicaland is likely to be seriously compromised by disease from last year’s crop amid revelations that thousands of farmers from across the province have not destroyed tobacco stalks from their fields.
May 15 was imposed as the deadline for the destruction of tobacco residue to help minimise carry-over of diseases and pests to the next season. Tobacco re-growths can be effectively destroyed by spraying glyphosphate.
However, three months after the lapse of the deadline, tobacco stalks remain an eyesore in most fields in Manicaland. The delay has raised serious concerns of fuelling pests and diseases on the 2015/16 tobacco crop.
This has prompted Agritex to dispatch extension workers in all tobacco growing communities to track down and ticket farmers who are still to destroy tobacco stalks.
Provincial Agritex Officer for Manicaland, Mr Godfrey Mamhare, on Wednesday, said while some commercial farmers had complied and were concentrating on tobacco nurseries and land preparation for the next summer crop, his department was now putting heat on mostly reluctant small-scale ones to comply with the dictates of the Plant Pests and Diseases Act (Chapter 19: 08). The law requires all farmers to have cleared their fields of tobacco stalks by May 15 of every year.
Mr Mamhare blamed their conduct on ignorance and arrogance.
“The observation has been that three months after the lapse of the deadline, some tobacco farmers are still to destroy stalks of last year’s crop from their fields. This is August 2015, and the next farming season is by the corner.
“Such conduct by these farmers is regrettable because it causes disease carry over. It compromises the quality of the next tobacco crop. The sad part of it is that carried over disease can affect the crop of those who would have complied.
“We discourage that and urge tobacco farmers to stick to these statutory requirements because they are informed by research,” said Mr Mamhare.
The most effective control is to destroy stalks immediately after harvesting.
“We have dispatched our officers in Makoni, Mutasa, Mutare, Nyanga and parts of Chimanimani to educate and caution the farmers because it is not good for the next season crop. They farmers will be ticketed,” said Mr Mamhare.
The major reason for poor crop residue destruction is poor supervision and monitoring by TIMB and Agritex.
The fines imposed are too low to dissuade farmers from violating the statutory requirement while some farmers complain that the process was expensive.
Some of the reasons for inaction include the desire for an undisturbed soil surface to prevent soil erosion while were prepared to risk prosecution because other operations had a higher priority at the time.
However, the danger is that non-compliance by one farmer can affect the next compliant farmer.
Slashing tobacco stalks and spraying the subsequent re-growth with glyphosphate was effective, but many farmers complain that it was expensive. For the offence, a first offender risks being penalised $100 per hectare or imprisonment for a year or both.
A second offender faces double the penalty and jail term. Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union president, Mr Abudul Nyathi, said most small-scale farmers lack the requisite knowledge on technical issues around tobacco. He said Agritex should partner TIMB in joint in-field training targeted at tobacco farmers so that they can appreciate the essence of time frames or deadlines.
Mr Mamhare added that most smallholder farmers, most of who lack irrigation facilities have also missed out on the earliest date for sowing seed — which was June 1. The seedlings will on the earliest, be transplanted as from September 1.
All seedbeds should be destroyed by December 31 — deadline often missed by many smallholder farmers who would be busy with transplanting.
Online Reporter