Elita Chikwati in Headlands
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has warned farmers against selling their crop to middlemen, as they risk being cheated by unscrupulous businesspeople.

This comes after a realisation that some middlemen approach tobacco growers and buy their crop at the farms at low prices and later sell at higher prices at auction floors.

In most cases, the farmers sell their crop at give-away prices to avoid travelling to Harare, while in some instances middlemen misrepresent information to farmers to force them to sell their crop outside the system.

Addressing farmers in Headlands, TIMB technical services manager Mr Blessing Dhokotera said farmers should sell their crop through the normal channel if they were to enjoy profits.

“Growers should never be enticed to sell tobacco to criminals outside the normal selling system,” he said.

“Doing so will result in loss of fruits of your labour.

“You should not sell your crop using someone’s registration number.

“Tobacco growers are entitled to a foreign currency incentive facility, which was recently increased from five to 12,5 percent. If you sell your crop through middlemen, they will get the incentive when you are the one who would have worked hard producing the crop.”

Some tobacco growers are in the habit of not registering with TIMB in order to sell their crop without paying registration fees.

Such farmers sell their crop using registered farmers’ numbers.

Mr Dhokotera said in so doing, the farmers would not get their incentive as it would be channelled to the owner of the registration number.

He discouraged farmers from the mentality that they could influence prices on the floors and said prices depended on the quality of the tobacco.

“You do not need to pay money to a third party to get better prices as good quality tobacco will attract better prices,” he said.

“To maximise returns, growers should take all reasonable care to present undamaged tobacco that is uniformly graded, free from contamination and foreign matter or any other non-tobacco related materials.”

Mr Dhokotera urged the farmers to take tree planting seriously as buyers would no longer be buying tobacco produced in an unsustainable manner.

He said TIMB, together with Agribank and other stakeholders, had come with initiatives to ensure the establishment of 20 000 hectares of woodlots in the next five years to meet the Global Tobacco Cigarette Companies guidelines on sustainable tobacco production and also the use of energy saving barns that reduce firewood consumption by 50 percent.

Government in 2015 came up with an afforestation levy, which has raised over $19 million.

Farmers are yet to benefit from this fund, but TIMB has raised $2 million to assist them establish woodlots.

“As from 2020, the Global Cigarette Companies will not buy tobacco that has not been produced in a sustainable way, including that cured with coal,” said Mr Dhokotera.

“Seized with this situation, it is imperative for the tobacco industry in Zimbabwe to adopt aggressive afforestation programmes to remain relevant to the Global Cigarette Industry.”