Boka Floors, doing it best
With the 2018 tobacco marketing season set to officially start in a couple of days, it's good for every farmer to be aware of what they will get where they take their precious crop. So why not take it to a place that understands and appreciates those efforts,Boka Floors.
Boka Floors marketing officer Mr Brian Dumbu gives a walkthrough of the imperative steps farmers need to take to take before bringing their crop to the floors. 1. “It is important for the farmers to follow all the steps carefully. When curing, please ensure that all necessary resources and conditions are in place. That is the moisture levels for curing, the firewood or coal as temperature plays a pivotal role. This is a 24 hour process and if done wrong it could seriously affect the quality of the product. 2. Storage is the next step, if stored incorrectly the leaf will be damaged. 3. This step is the downfall of many. Grading. Many people try to cheat the grading process by nesting their bales to get the weight up and putting different quality leaves in one bale. The farmers should note that they can be charged for incorrect grading as the regulatory body, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) will be on hand to assess. 4. Do not jump steps. 5. Before the farmers come to the auction floors, they must ensure that their accounts are active. Most farmers only utilize their accounts during marketing season and leave them dormant for the rest of the year. This poses challenges of realizing their accounts are inactive when it is time for payment
processing. To avoid delay and frustration, please ensure the accounts are active. 6. The next issue is the grower number.The same applies in terms of renewal of the grower number, farmers need to ensure their number are active and linked to their accounts before coming to the auction floors. 7. One of the most important things a farmer has to ensure is not to get conned before entering the floors. Do not try and sell crop outside the floors hoping for a better price, as all sales happen on the floors,”he said. Mr Dumbu added that less than favourable weather patterns during the growing process for most farmers, do not automatically translate into a bad season.
“From our assessment, we have seen a dry spell during the growing phase followed by a prolonged wet spell. But we have seen that there is tobacco in the fields and if the farmers managed to salvage the situation by taking precautionary measures they should be able to see a fair harvest,” he said. Boka Floors is a brand that is well known and has been loved by generations over. They have proven themselves as the best and their service delivery speaks volumes.
“We have an all-inclusive service. Everything is done in one place for the convenience of the farmers who choose our floors. We have banking facilities, wholesalers, and as for the ability to accommodate a thousand farmers at one go, we can do that with ease.
“We offer farmers expertise advise on hand, TIMB officials to assist and a comfortable and clean environment to wait for your processes to be complete,”he said.