Tobacco players call for ‘overhaul’

Stakeholders in the tobacco industry have called for a holistic approach to challenges being faced by farmers to come up with solutions that will enable the whole value chain to benefit from the business.

This came out at a Tobacco Indaba organised by the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union in Harare yesterday.
The indaba, which was attended by farmers, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe officials, tobacco merchants and buyers and Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), Tobacco Research Board (TRB), was meant to enhance information on emerging tobacco marketing issues that boost viability and provide a platform for experience sharing.

The stakeholders established that farmers were lacking important knowledge which resulted in them experiencing challenges from production to marketing of tobacco.

The farmers raised the issues of the complicated payment systems, difficulties in accessing their money from Nostro accounts, high input costs and low prices offered by buyers on the market.

The farmers expressed concern over RBZ’s regulation over their foreign currency earnings which they said should be increased from 50 percent to 80 percent, while others said they should be given more cash to enable them to pay their workers.

The farmers said while they wanted to use plastic money, they were being charged extortionate interest rates which eroded their earnings.
Tobacco growers expressed concern over the low prices being offered by buyers this season, which they said will likely force them to abandon production.

Tobacco merchant Alliance One sales executive Mr Kundayi Hatendi said it was important for stakeholders to engage and come up with solutions.
He said some of the challenges being faced in the tobacco industry were due to the macro-economic challenges and would not be solved by increasing producer prices.