Tobacco season gets underway

THE tobacco season is already underway, with growers in Manicaland making final preparations for the transplanting of seedlings on September 1.

A total of 6 000 hectares of the irrigated crop are being targeted this summer.

Growers who spoke to Post Business early this week said they were through with land preparations and are ready for the transplantation of seedlings from their nurseries on the set date.

Commercial irrigated tobacco is transplanted from September 1 up to the first week of November to allow the crop to enjoy high humidity and sunshine, which are prerequisite ingredients for a high quality leaf.

Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe vice-president, Mr David Guy Mutasa said preparations are at an advanced stage, with farmers now applying pre-emergent herbicides to control weeds and nematodes.

“We are preparing to start planting on September 1.

“Some have started putting ridges and applying pre-emergent herbicides which require about two weeks in the soil before the actual planting.

“Elimination of diseases, pests and weeds are of primary importance in tobacco production as they can influence the quality of the yield,” said Mr Mutasa.

Agriculture Advisory and Rural Development

Services (AARDS) tobacco specialist, Mr Douglas Nzarayebani said more than 5 000ha are ready for planting in Manicaland.

“The majority of farmers are through with land preparations for irrigated tobacco, and are ready to transplant the seedlings on September 1. We do not expect growers to transplant before the regulated date as that is a punishable offence.

“The total hectarage for Manicaland for the 2022/23 season is 26 000ha, with irrigated tobacco constituting 6 000ha. The remainder will be put under the dry land crop. Going forward, we implore tobacco farmers to undertake good agronomic practices in fertilisation, weed control and adhering to the number of leaves for a particular crop,” he said.

Mr Nzarayebani said farmers should transplant seedlings that are between three to six inches high 40 to 50 days after being sown. The process must be done carefully as the seedlings are vulnerable to climate variations, diseases and parasites.

Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) spokesperson, Ms Chelesani Moyo said so far, 16 695 growers have been registered for the 2022/23 season.

She said about 602 760 grammes of tobacco seeds have been sold, up from the 457 814g sold for the 2021/22 season.

Before planting, growers must register or renew their registrations with TIMB.

They are mandated to sign new contracts every season as these automatically expire at the end of each marketing season.

TIMB now has a new registration system that seeks to cleanse the sector of inactive growers who are fueling 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.

The following requirements should accompany all registration applications —proof of access to land, stamped recommendation letter from the grower’s local AADRS officer, copy of national identification card and an application fee of US$10 payable on submission of the application form before 31 October.

Tobacco is ranked as one of the most important cash crops in Zimbabwe.

The golden leaf rakes in millions of dollars of foreign currency for the country annually.

It also contributes to improved livelihoods and employs a huge chunk of the rural population.