The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Correspondent
A HEADLANDS commercial farmer, Graeme Chadwick of Landos Farm was recently fined US$11 300 by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement for non-compliance to tobacco regulations.
This came a few days after Chadwick was fined another US$2 000 on separate charges committed on a separate piece of land at the farm. Chadwick was issued with the first ticket by plant health inspector, Mr Lovemore Mwavurudza after he created 231 tobacco seedbeds before the stipulated time.
The 231 seedbeds cover 77 hectares.
For the offence, he was fined US$9 300 for early tobacco nursery.
Earliest sowing of tobacco nursery seedbeds should be done on June 1.
On the second violation, Chadwick was reported to have transplanted his tobacco into the fields before September 1 which is the earliest legislative date for transplanting of tobacco.
Mr Mwavurudza said by August 20, Chadwick had planted 16 hectares of tobacco seedlings.
He was fined US$2 000 for the offence.
Tobacco Research Board sales agronomist, Mr Itai Mazhangara said they had launched a nationwide blitz on errant tobacco farmers disregarding stipulated planting dates.
He said all errant farmers will be fined.
He warned other farmers across the province against violating the legislature saying it does not only attract penalties, but endangers other farmers’ crop.
Mr Mazhangara said defiant farmers risk having their crops infected by the deadly Potato Virus Y (PVY).
“Legislation has proven to be the first and most important line of defence against PVY. Based on studies that were done in the 1960s, legislation is effective in keeping aphid populations in check,” he said.
The virus spreads on a 100km radius and has no effective virucide to date.
“The vector requires only 15 seconds to acquire and transmit viruses.
“Headlands has many commercial farmers and once this virus affects one farmer’s crop, all farms at a 100km radius will also be affected. “It endangers other farmers’ crop while the culprit’s crop will already be strong and past the stage of being shaken by the virus,” he said.
He also said corporate adherence to legislated dates remains critical in vector management in the country.
In an interview with The Manica Post, Mr Mwavurudza said while insect-borne viruses of tobacco are potentially the greatest threat to the tobacco industry in Zimbabwe, tobacco aphids like PVY have the greatest potential for explosive population expansion than most serious vector of viruses.
