adminMercy Ngwebvu
New tobacco farmers have lamented climate change as the major reason why they produced poor crops this year. Speaking during a meeting organised by Climate Smart Trust last week at the Boka Auction Floors in Harare, the farmers petitioned the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board to help them negotiate prices with contractors so that they do not take home cheques with little money.
“This whole climate change issue affected us so much so that the crops we produced were not really up to standard. The shifting rainfall patterns confused us and it was difficult to apply our inputs at the right time,” said a farmer from Odzi. Climate Smart Trust executive secretary Wendy Mtisi said their organisation was embarking on a programme to help farmers who would have cured their tobacco using the right wood so that their crop will fetch better prices during sales.
“The well-being of farmers is our primary concern. We want to ensure that those who used the right wood in curing their crop will get better prices when it comes to sales. Tobacco farming is hard work and farmers are entitled to their dues for their hard work, especially when they would have produced their crop in a climate smart manner,” she said. While the farmers blamed climate change, the TIMB representative who attended the meeting, Peter Remwa, attributed the poor prices to the farmers’ lack of knowledge on how the crop is graded for sale. “Most farmers do not understand the grading system of tobacco, therefore do not understand why their tobacco was bought at ridiculously low prices.
The orange style tobacco is the current favoured style which has been attracting the highest prices. This style has high nicotine content and is normally as a result of a good fertiliser regime of your crop coupled with other factors such as curing,” he said.
The major problem encountered by most new farmers is that they produced lemon style tobacco which is usually a result of low fertiliser application and other environmental conditions.
Also at the meeting was the Ministry of Agriculture representative, Collen Kabudura, who spoke on the dire need for farmers to focus on producing quality crop.
“The production of quality tobacco will always remain significant. If tobacco farmers are not diligent in their practices, the trade will die a natural death. There is need for a networking platform so that farmers exchange ideas on how best to produce quality crops. Sustainable agriculture takes a collective effort for it to be achievable, said Kabudura.” So far, the country has earned $211,9 million from Virginia tobacco exports, with China remaining the leading exporter after buying 19,3 million kg worth $166,7 million at $8,63 per kilogramme.
Online Reporter