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Edgar Vhera Agriculture Specialist Writer
SOME tobacco contractors have come under fire for not disclosing the cost of input packages they give farmers at the start of the season on the backdrop of growing suspicions that they might be inflating figures capitalising on the farmers’ ignorance on the size of their debt.
Farmers belonging to the Tobacco Farmer Talk (TFT) group revealed this recently with some alleging that they were given eight fertiliser bags but charged between US$1 000 and US$1 150, an average price of US$125 and US$144 per bag against the US$60 obtaining on the market at the time the inputs were disbursed, marking a percentage increase of more than 100.
Another displeased farmer who preferred anonymity said he was given four bags of fertiliser, a seed pack and US$30 for labour but the total bill at the end of the season was US$801.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman Mr George Seremwe said they had received complaints from farmers who felt short-changed, as the delivery note, which was supposed to be signed with the price on it, did not have the costings, which is against the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board’s (TIMB) regulation framework.
“Delivery notes ought to have prices for the different categories of inputs by the time they are dispatched. If farmers signed delivery notes without prices, we need to engage TIMB to get an explanation and advice on how we can amicably solve the matter urgently,” said Mr Seremwe.
Mr Seremwe said there should be an acceptable price level for the various input categories and interest rates for a win-win situation between farmers and contractors.
Tobacco Farmers Union Trust president Mr Victor Mariranyika concurred saying this unfair practice by contractors was aimed at swindling farmers of their hard-earned cash.
“The problem starts with some contractors who distributed inputs without indicating prices on vouchers rendering the contract null and void.
“Farmers should engage their unions for help to recover unlawfully deducted monies at the market,” said Mr Mariranyika.
TIMB public affairs officer, Mrs Chelesani Tsarwe could not comment on the matter but requested this writer to identify the contractors perpetrating the vice so that they could act to save the farmers.
Section 7. (1) of Statutory Instrument 77 of 2022 of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing (Prohibition of Side Marketing) Regulations, says every contractor shall provide to the Board details of the support extended to a contract grower.
A look at the 2022/23 tobacco production season shows that TIMB and contractors signed a compliance administration framework that set minimum input packages to be given to farmers.
However, the input package was quantity-based only with no value attached to it thereby exposing farmers to machinations of contractors at marketing time.
TIMB is therefore required to verify and approve the value of inputs that contractors should give to farmers for tobacco production on a hectare basis.
As the compliance administration framework was signed in the middle of the 2022/23 season, it did not give TIMB time to monitor the provision of the package from seedbed to land preparation and finally curing.
For the 2023/24 season TIMB must start monitoring and enforcing contractors, as early as June when they start to give farmers inputs for seed development.
Online Reporter