Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera
TOBACCO farmers have welcomed the minimum input package unveiled by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) under the Contractors’ Compliance Administration Framework (CCAF).
The farmers are also calling for the inclusion of working capital, input prices and the time frame for input distribution.
Tobacco Farmers Union Trust (TFUT) president, Mr Edward Dune, hailed the CCAF minimum input package as a sound and acceptable principle, although more was required by farmers.
“The package could be more appealing and farmer-friendly if it incorporates both quality and financial compliance.
“Currently, we observe that the market price for a 50-kilogramme (kg) bag of Compound C varies widely, ranging from US$30 to US$90, even though the quality remains the same,” he said.
Mr Dune said such a wide price range could be used as a loophole to fleece farmers.
Tobacco growers have raised concerns about certain contractors who fail to disclose the actual prices at the start of the season. Instead, these contractors only reveal exorbitant charges later, once they begin to recoup their investments.
“Working capital also remains deficient in the framework, yet it is an important requirement. Also, the time of input disbursement is crucial as late deliveries will affect crop production,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Farmers Union (ZNFU) president, Mrs Monica Chinamasa, said the minimum input package was fair but should have included labour costs for three workers.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA) chairman, Mr George Seremwe, said they were happy that TIMB considered their recommendations from consultations and were waiting for the implementation of the CCAF to drive the sustainable growth of the industry.
“We worked together with TIMB to come up with the compliance framework and hope all contractors will follow suit.
“We will see less overcharging and hopefully our cost of production will be low, attractive and controlled,” Mr Seremwe said.
In the past, unscrupulous individuals were accused of siphoning farmers through the stop order system, a practice that the new compliance is set to address.
“TIMB must enforce compliance and our clarion call to farmers is that they should always keep their paperwork and sign the delivery slips to stop unscrupulous business people from short-changing them,” he said.
TIMB, through the CCAF, set a minimum input package that every contractor must meet for a contract to be valid.
According to the requirements, a small-scale grower contracted for one hectare should receive basal fertiliser (NPK), 300 kilogrammes, top dressing AN/CAN, 100kg, insecticide one unit, suckeride one unit and two kg of T2 twine.
“The farmer must also get 20 pairs of tobacco paper, hessian and 500 kg of coal or equivalent in sustainable wood supplied by the contractor,” said TIMB.
Herbicides can be given at the contractor’s discretion.
The disclosure of the minimum input package comes in handy as farmers are signing contracts for the upcoming season, with the sowing of seeds intensifying.
dyton mupawaenda