The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
PREPARATIONS for the 2023/24 tobacco season are progressing well, with about 400 hectares of irrigated tobacco having been transplanted in Manicaland since the beginning of the window on September 1, 2023.
Irrigated tobacco planting is expected to wind up during the first week of November so that it enjoys high humidity and sunshine which are needed for better quality.
The bulk of transplanting has been done in Makoni, Mutare and Mutasa, where farmers are taking advantage of the current wet spell to intensify both transplanting and land preparation for grain crops.
Manicaland is targeting to put at least 27 000ha under irrigated tobacco following an upsurge in registered growers taking up the golden leaf in anticipation of higher returns.
About 51 695 growers have registered for the 2023/24 season.
Tobacco specialist with Agritex, Mr Lazarus Nzarayebani, said so far, Manicaland has planted about 400 hectares of irrigated tobacco.
A survey conducted by Post Business in Makoni — the province’s hub of tobacco growing — established that commercial farmers are busy planting, while their small-scale counterparts are tendering their nurseries in preparation for dryland tobacco planting which starts mid-November.
Mr Nzarayebani said preparations are on course and urged farmers to apply adequate water and fertilisers on their crop to ensure high quality tobbaco.
Growers are being urged to renew their grower numbers, while first-time growers can apply at the TIMB regional offices in Mutare or Rusape.
“We are in the second week of tobacco transplanting, and so far the planted area is about 400 hectares, most of which is in Makoni. We are targeting to plant 27 000ha of tobacco this season,” said Mr Nzarayebani.
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) spokesperson, Mrs Chelesani Tsarwe said tobacco growers are busy discing and preparing ridges for transplanting.
Mrs Tsarwe said they have also added shisha tobacco, another cash crop, to the list of their produce.
The first batch of the crop was grown during the 2022/23 season.
“For the 2023/24 season, 4 390 grammes of shisha tobacco seed covering 549 hectares have been disbursed to growers and they are working on seedbeds.
“In line with the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan which seeks to increase tobacco value addition and beneficiation, shisha tobacco will be processed locally. There are lucrative markets for the produce across Africa and Europe,” she said.
Mrs Tsarwe also said six new contractors have been licensed to increase the number of tobacco financiers for this season.
She said TIMB has put in place key strategies to tackle the issues of misinvoicing and transfer pricing that have been negatively affecting the tobacco industry.
“Among the strategies is the Compliance Administrative Framework that was implemented in 2021 and the setting up of a new Compliance Administration Department.
“The former framework is there to ensure that all contracting companies fund farmers with inputs that are within the approved cost ranges as guided by the prevailing input costs set by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
“Before contracting commences, all interested companies submit their commitment documents which show their capacity to contract for the season, including proof of funding, unit cost of inputs to be given to the farmer and the interest component to be charged,” she said.
Tobacco Farmers Union Trust president, Mr Victor Mariranyika said the vetting of contractors will leave no room for abuse and duping of farmers.
“In the past, the majority of our growers were short-changed by contractors through under funding, late delivery of inputs, over pricing of inputs and merchants buying the crop at prices below the cost of production,” he said.
