The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
TOBACO farming is a labour-intensive venture whose rich pickings are entirely hinged on the quality of the leaf.
All things being equal, a grower who improves the quality and yield of their crop should smile all the way to the bank.
Such a grower should be guaranteed high returns on their investment.
At 32 days into the 2021 tobacco marketing season, the quality of the leaf delivered at the auction floors had improved but the prices had not yet firmed.
To date, about 109 million kilogrammes of tobacco, valued at US$293 million, have been sold.
Last year only 68 million kgs had been sold during same period.
With the highest price recorded so far this year being US$6.70 per kilogram and the lowest being US$0.10; the average price is US$2.76 per kg for auction floors and US$2.67 for contract floors.
Growers are not happy that despite the improvement in quality, prices remain stagnant.
They have decried the ‘good crop and poor price’ dilemma which is threatening to push them out of business.
If the crop, which one toils to produce for nine months, fetches 10 cents per kg against a break-even price of US$3.33, will they return to the field next season?
Is tobacco farming a lucrative venture or a curse for the small-holder farmer?
It seems like this is no longer a quality issue. There is more than meets the eye.
Mrs Getrude Musimwa of Mapembe, Odzi, said a high quality leaf should fetch a good price.
“Quality is the benchmark for any grower bent on making a profit. The better the quality of the crop, the more valuable the leaf becomes. However, this is not the case. Tobacco cannot be withheld and therefore growers have no bargaining power. The buyers are dictating the prices,” said Mrs Musimwa.
Mr Lovemore Gijima Msindo of Gijima Farm in Headlands said the tobacco pricing regime is suffocating small-holder growers.
“The land reform programme of 2000 saw black farmers accessing land and venturing into tobacco production. Now the small-scale farmers are being swindled of their crop through value manipulation. This situation is driving small-holder growers into abject poverty,” said Mr Msindo.
Mr Victor Mariranyika of Nyabadza, Rusape, said auction floors are setting the pace when it comes to pricing of the crop.
“This has been the trend for the past few seasons and is well calculated to disadvantage the small scale farmers.
“At auction floors there are two separate floors – one for the small-scale growers and another one for their commercial counterparts. Prices for the commercial wing are four-fold better than those at the small scale floor for the same grade of tobacco. The bulk of tobacco from small-scale growers averages below the production cost of US$3.33.
“Buyers participating at the auction floors are the same buyers and contractors operating at the contract floors. So if a self-sponsored farmer evades contract floors, he or she will meet the same people at the auction floors. Therefore the same contractors are frustrating the auction system to push all farmers to the contracted system,” said Mr Mariranyika, who doubles as the president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust.
Mr Silas Manungo of Nyamajura, Odzi said farming is a serious business and growers deserve meaningful profits to enable them to service loans, fix broken equipment, maintain farm infrastructure, purchase inputs and machinery to improve the next crop.
