Tobacco harvesting in full throttle

13 Jan, 2023 - 00:01 0 Views
Tobacco harvesting in full throttle Tobacco harvesting has commenced in Manicaland

The ManicaPost

 

Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter

TOBACCO reaping is in full swing in all regions with irrigated and semi-irrigated crop.

Agronomists have said the crop was grown under conditions guaranteeing high quality leaf that will fetch better at auction floors.

Commercial irrigated tobacco was transplanted between September and October, during which it enjoyed prerequisite conditions for its successful production like well-distributed rainfall during active vegetative growth stage, long day lengths, high humidity and high heat units, among others.

Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) spokesperson, Ms Chelesani Moyo said harvesting has started in regions with the early planted gold leaf.

“It is true that harvesting has started in all regions for farmers with irrigated and semi-irrigated tobacco,” said Ms Moyo.

Tobacco is one of the most important agricultural export crops in Zimbabwe, and one of the major sources of income for thousands of farmers in Manicaland.

About 5 000 hectares were put under irrigated tobacco in Manicaland, while 18 000ha were put under the dryland crop that relies on rains.

Agriculture Advisory and Rural Development Services (AARDS) tobacco specialist, Mr Douglas Nzarayebani said harvesting was more pronounced in Makoni, Mutasa and Mutare districts.

“The early planted tobacco is ripening and farmers are already reaping and curing. A number of farmers started harvesting in December in Makoni, which is the hub of tobacco production, Mutare and Mutasa districts. Some of the farmers are now reaping the top leaves,” said Mr Nzarayebani.

Tobacco farming is a labour-intensive venture whose rich pickings are entirely hinged on the quality of the leaf, and all things being equal, growers with the best quality and yield should smile all the way to the bank, and guaranteed high returns on their investment.

Although other cash crops, including cotton and maize, are more important for most communal and resettlement farmers, many had opted for dryland tobacco, an important crop that offers these smallholder growers a unique opportunity for exceptionally high producer profits and excellent rates of return.

“This crop was planted in September, which is the period that gives us the best quality because it was grown under ideal conditions.

“The rains have been good and without incidents. With irrigated tobacco, we are talking of seasoned farmers who apply best management and good agricultural practices based on scientific facts,” he said.

Mr Nzarayebani said the dryland crop was at various vegetative stages of grown and in good condition.

Over 180 000 farmers registered to grow tobacco in the country this season, with over 95 percent of production being financed through contract farming.

“The dryland crop is looking very good and enjoying all ideal growing conditions – humidity, sunshine, heat units, water and nutrients. Fertilisers are readily available in the shops and farmers should apply the recommended 12 to 14 bags of Compound C per hectare. They should not cut corners by applying less than the recommended quantities per hectare because the leaf will be poor and inferior in both size and quality and end up fetching poor prices at the auction floors.

 

“We implore tobacco farmers to undertake good agronomic practices in fertilisation, weed control and adhering to the number of leaves for a particular crop. They should also use the right chemicals recommended for tobacco when combating insects and pests,” said Mr Nzarayebani.

Mr David Guy Mutasa, the vice chairman of Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe (TAZ), said reaping started in December and some growers are now in the second round of reaping.

TIMB now has a new registration system that seeks to cleanse the sector of inactive growers who are fuelling chaos in the vibrant industry.

Through the use of GIS technology which facilitates data collection on GPS coordinates, TIMB hopes to eliminate inaccurate crop estimations and inaccurate figures for area planted.

GPS coordinates for all farmers are being captured by the TIMB system, and only bona-fide growers will remain in the regulating authority’s system.

It is also now a condition for approval for all new growers to have their GPS coordinates captured first.

 

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