Need for efforts to regain tobacco grower confidence
The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement should open dialogue with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to set aside cash for tobacco farmers to avoid winding queues and frustrations when the tobacco marketing season arrives.
THE 2017 tobacco marketing season was a nightmare for farmers who had invested their time and energy in the revered golden leaf.
Delayed payments and cash headaches caused misunderstandings, which degenerated into protests.
Although the situation was contained swiftly at the time, the idea that farmers saw it fit to engage in resistant action is a cause for concern and should inspire sector introspection.
Recent statistics f r om t he Tobacco I ndustr y Marketing Board ( TIMB) indicate that 100 000 tobacco growers have registered so far, showing intent towards the crop.
The upward shif t f rom the 73 658 who had registered last year at the same time gives rest to speculation by critics who predicted a possible plunge in figures.
These are signs that f armers are still willing to play their part in generating foreign currency for the country, despite the inconveniences they have been meeting.
Tobacco buyers and the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement should repay the resilience shown by these growers by improving the conditions they encounter when they come to sell their crop.
Earlier this year, farmers ended up paying homeowners in areas close to the tobacco sales fl oors to perform basic activities like bathing and sleeping.
For people who bring foreign currency to the country to the tune of $900 million plus annually, they were crying foul that their efforts were not appreciated.
The cash crisis, which rocked Zimbabwe also did not help the situation.
Since they subcontract labourers during the growing season, farmers need cash to settle debts, which would have accumulated in their respective areas.
A certain percentage of their payouts should be processed in cash, so as to help them retain meaningful margins after making payments considering how plastic money transactions have comparatively higher costs than those made in cash.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement should open dialogue with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to set aside cash for tobacco farmers to avoid winding queues and frustrations when the tobacco marketing season arrives.
In the absence of cash, crafty middlemen who dangle cash to growers thrive and that becomes a revenue fissure for the country as they divert the crop from the sales floors.
They pay lower rates than those gazetted in the auctions using cash to tempt the desperate farmers. Resultantly, most growers get a raw deal as they are given odd rates for their crop.
Earlier this year at the auction floors a premium crop was being bought at an entry level price because the farmers were hypnotised by cash.
Unscrupulous buyers should not be allowed to continue prejudicing growers, especially communal growers who cannot off set losses through volumes. Every dollar they get makes a great difference to them.
Some ended up being scammed with counterfeit notes; all these sad stories can be avoided if the auctions are configured to run smoothly.
Unregistered tobacco sales usually slide under the tax radar, prejudicing Zimbabwe of potential earnings.
Questions were also asked around a grading system which was deemed to be translucent. Allegations were raised on the prices which were offered to some farmers.
Critics argued that auction f loor workers were undervaluing their crop and soliciting for bribes to tag their leaf at higher prices.
Attempts to cure this challenge with e- marketing did not have noticeable impact as growers complained of the inconvenience caused by system outages.
If the e- marketing idea is to be accepted widely, there is a need to spruce it up by refining the rough edges.
What was supposed to help efficient trading on the f loors ended up being the Achilles heel in the 2017 tobacco marketing season.
Centralised auction f l oors in Harare may act as a deterrent f or growers i n years to come.
Historically, everything was centred i n Harare to serve a few settler farmers and the current grower population makes it unsustainable.
An i dea was a l r eady in motion towards decentralis- i ng t obacco auctions; what is lef t is gaining the grower`s confidence.
Former Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made had suggested decentralising the operations to have the auction floors closer to the growers.
In May this year, he told The Herald that there was a need to meet the farmers halfway.
“We have to lessen the farmers’ burden. This is why we instructed the TIMB to decentralise the tobacco auctioning because unlike in the colonial era where there were 200 tobacco farmers, there are more black tobacco farmers from diff erent regions,” Made said.
This is the vision which inspired the licensing of the Karoi and Mvurwi based auctions, but it seems the momentum has f izzled out as people still travel from these areas to Harare in a bid to convert their golden leaf into money.
In travelling, farmers incur costs in transport, subsistence and accommodation, which reduces the profit margin in comparison to if the auction fl oors were closer to the source.
The beginning of the tobacco marketing period falls into the rainy season and a lot of farmers over the years have been left counting losses after rains damaged their tobacco in transit.
Whichever way, these losses need to be reduced and ensure that farmers as well as the country get the best value from the crop.
In May when The Herald spoke to growers, some swore they will not grow tobacco again following the straining process they had gone through.
However, according to latest statistics, it seems many have reversed their decisions, which is plausible.
It is now up to the buyers and authorities to ensure that the growers feel important by attempting to regain their trust, which has fallen over the years. Feedback: dzengavisuals@ gmail.com