Illegal tobacco buyers prey on tobacco farmers

Noah Pito in Hurungwe

Agriculture Correspondent

Unscrupulous tobacco buyers in Hurungwe are exploiting farmers offering prices as low as US$0,30 per kilogramme.

The official tobacco selling season opened last week with farmers expressing disappointment over low prices.

The situation is, however, expected to stabilise starting this week due to the opening of the contract floors.

For the past years, unscrupulous buyers have been taking advantage of growers and buying tobacco at the farms for later sale at the auction floors at higher prices.

In Hurungwe, the illegal buyers are taking advantage of the farmers’ desperation, some are struggling to pay workers for reaping, curing and grading their crop, leading them to sell part of their harvest just to secure enough funds.

Some illegal buyers give farmers the choice to exchange the golden leaf for liquor or groceries.

Activity has peaked at business centres such as Nyamambizi, Makakara, Kahonde, Kazangarare, Mudzimu and Katenhe some farmers who fall prey to the illegal buyers enjoy their proceeds from the exploitation.

Chief Chanetsa, who is also a prominent tobacco farmer in Hurungwe, condemned the practice, warning that farmers must wait and be rewarded for the true value of their crop rather than being short-changed in broad daylight.

“It is part of my role as a traditional leader to advise these communities on the best way to go. I have been sensitising the farmers over the matter mostly through village heads,” he said.

“The practice of selling to these illegal buyers is the real source of side marketing and it must stop. Imagine that someone contracted by a tobacco company falls to the temptation, it means they may end up selling most of their crop to these buyers at the expense of settling their loans with the companies.”

Chief Chanetsa urged desperate farmers to look for other sources of money rather than parting with their fortune for a song.

Village head Mabvumadzanwa (Mr Kaitano Chitimbe), who is also a tobacco farmer under Chief Nematombo in the Kahonde area, said the situation in his area was difficult to control since the illegal buyers came through locals who fronted as runners for a commission.

He said cases of tobacco theft among family members and between neighbours were also becoming common in the area due to the lack of restrictions on the buying and selling of tobacco.

“We are now sleeping at the barns overnight, fearing to lose our tobacco. The situation is not good. Eversince childhood, we grew up knowing the tradition that tobacco is sold through the auction floors and maize through the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

“Illegal buyers are using locals as runners whom they give some commission. These buyers are reaping off farmers,” he said.

A tobacco farmer based at Yawanda Farm, who only identified himself as Huruyadzo, said he was worried about farmers trading their tobacco for liquor or groceries, saying the practice only worsened their situation at the end.

“I think it’s better to borrow money from elsewhere than disposing of their tobacco in that way,” he said.

“In about three months from now we are also going to witness yet another similar problem where some dealers from Harare and other cities flood this area with their substandard commodities exchanging them with grain.”

Meanwhile, reaping of tobacco is continuing in Hurungwe with most rural farmers being left with two to three reaps.

Challenges faced by tobacco farmers in the area include shortage of labour, firewood and barn space. Farmer organisations have been discouraging their members.

Tobacco Farmers’ union Trust of Zimbabwe president, Mr Edward Dune, recently said they were educating farmers on the dangers of selling through informal channels, as they will make huge losses.

“Farmers should be wary of unscrupulous businesspeople who always show up during the marketing season. It is important to sell through the formal channels to get better returns,” he said.

Farmers planted 164 536 hectares, an increase of 15 percent from the 143 025 ha during the same period last year.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said it had strengthened registration and licensing systems for growers, buyers and selling floors to ensure that only compliant players participate in the market.

The boards’ biometric registration system for tobacco growers seeks to ensure accurate grower identification, eliminate duplication and improve traceability across the value chain.