The ManicaPost
Agriculture Reporter
IN a move aimed at upholding productivity and sustainability, Kutsaga (formerly Tobacco Research Board) has implored tobacco farmers to use only approved agro-chemicals during production of the crop in order to comply with phytosanitary requirements that govern international trade.
Pursuant to that, Kutsaga has released a new full list of such agro-chemicals that have been given the greenlight for us, which includes fungicides, herbicides, suckericides, growth regulators and fertilisers as well as insecticides and nematicides.
The list contains chemical and trade name of the product, company distributor, old and new certificate number and the expiry date, with October 31, 2026 being the last expiry date for sanctioned chemicals.
In a statement, Kutsaga said failure by tobacco farmers to comply with the regulations will result in their crop being destroyed without compensation.
“No person shall treat any tobacco with a remedy which is not registered nor reap or offer for sale any tobacco treated with a non-registered remedy. Any tobacco so treated will be destroyed without compensation to the grower. Where there is infringement of this regulation, the legislation has been used to destroy tobacco in the field or offered for sale,” said Kutsaga.
More than 90 percent of the tobacco produced in Zimbabwe was exported, added Kutsaga, and the crop had to be produced under stringent international agro-chemical regulations for acceptance and maintenance of markets in an increasingly competitive global market.
