daniel chigunwe
Precious Manomano
Herald Reporter
Thousands of tobacco farmers are set to benefit from a facility being rolled out by a local firm under corporate and contract farming in line with the Government’s vision 2030.
The project is expected to help the Government towards raising production and foreign currency to achieve a middle-income economy by 2030.
Premier Tobacco is complementing Government’s efforts in supporting the growth of the tobacco industry.
This is in line with the Government’s Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy, which is set to propel the country’s productivity and maximum land utilisation.
Premier Tobacco is targeting 10 000ha of tobacco in the next season.
About 5 000ha will be put under corporate farming, while the other 5 000ha will be under contract farming.
At least 80 percent of the company’s tobacco will be under irrigation, with the intention to fight the effects of climate change.
Premier Tobacco is also diversifying into cereals such as wheat and maize.
Farmers said the initiative is a relief to the majority since they could not embark on tobacco production without financial assistance.
Tobacco Farmers Union Trust president, Mr Victor Mariranyika, said the initiative signifies the growth of the tobacco industry.
“This shows that the tobacco industry is growing. Tobacco farmers will also benefit from this initiative. We appreciate the role played by the Government and private sector to improve the industry,” he said.
Mrs Tamari Machaya of Karoi said the initiative will also help to alleviate unemployment levels.
“The more hectares that will be put under tobacco the more people will be employed. We are grateful for the initiative. This will alleviate hunger and poverty as well,” she said.
Premier Tobacco Auction Floor executive director Mr Owen Murumbi said the dream of expanding the business is becoming a reality, adding that their main aim is to be part of the value chain.
“About 5 000ha will be corporate farms and 5 000 contract. We are not going to do small scale because of side marketing, we will be part of the value chain even in exporting. We are committed to funding up to 10 000ha.
“This dream is becoming a reality. We want to recruit more farm managers. The drought has affected this year’s output and most of the crop was affected, the late rains prolonged the harvesting period.
“We are doing corporate farming so we have guaranteed supply of tobacco at cheaper prices. We want to go beyond auction business. We want to process the tobacco and export it,” he said.
Online Reporter