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Tapiwa Masenda, (second from left), a manager at Minister Obert Mpofu’s farm, explains how tobacco is grown during a field tour in Nyamandlovu in this file picture. Listening (from left) are the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Davis Marapira, Minister Mpofu (right) and other guests

Prosper Ndlovu and Oliver Kazunga Business Reporters
THE 2015 tobacco marketing season begins this week and more than 89,000 farmers mainly from the northern parts of the country would be smiling all the way to the bank to collect money from the sale of their produce.As scores of tobacco farmers start delivering their crop to the three auction floors in Harare, the bulk of Matabeleland farmers are not in the picture.

Only eight farmers from the region registered for the 2015 cropping season as at February, according to Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).

Last year nine tobacco farmers in Matabeleland North produced the cash crop in a combined 26 hectares of land.

A snap survey by Business Chronicle on Friday revealed that a handful of farmers including Transport Minister Obert Mpofu — who grew tobacco in Umguza district last year — have nothing to sell this year.

“My crop was destroyed by heavy rains. I had planted nearly 20 hectares of tobacco, which was submerged in water. Salimala kakhulu (it was a disaster) and I think most farmers were affected,” said Minister Mpofu who successfully produced the cash crop in the previous season.

The development has dampened prospects of establishing a tobacco auction floor in the region, which the government pledged to set up should the number of producers and the yield increase.

TIMB chief executive officer, Andrew Matibiri on Friday said only eight farmers from Matabeleland region would be selling their crop to the auction floors.

“There’re only a handful of tobacco growers in Matabeleland region. Both Matabeleland North  and South provinces have eight farmers that have registered to grow tobacco this year. The number of tobacco growers in that region is low compared to other tobacco growing regions in the country,” said Matibiri.

“The problem is rainfall distribution but with irrigation there is no problem, the crop can do  well.”

He said while Matabeleland soils were suitable for the golden leaf the region was lagging behind in tobacco farming due to other factors such as lack of expertise as well as unavailability of inputs.

The number of registered tobacco growers has continued to balloon in the past few years resulting in the country earning up to $730 million from tobacco exports for last year alone.

China, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Russia are among the major markets for the country’s flue-cured tobacco.