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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
HARVESTING and curing of the early planted tobacco across the country has begun with farmers impressed by the quality of their crop.

However, hailstorms that hit some parts of the country in the past few days has negatively affected the crop that was still in the field.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa, said some farmers have already started harvesting and curing the irrigated tobacco.

“Across the country, the farmers have started reaping and curing irrigated tobacco, which was planted in the first week of September.

“We are very happy that the quality of the crop is good but some of the tobacco, which is still in the fields, has been destroyed by the hailstorm that hit different parts of the country in the past few days,” he said.

“However, to us, the hailstorm did not happen as a surprise as the Meteorological Services Department had predicted. We just hope most of the farmers had insured their tobacco.”

Agronomist Mr Thomas Nherera said the quality of the irrigated tobacco was generally good across the country.

“We hope in the next selling season the prices at the auction floors will be favourable to encourage more farmers to grow the crop in the next farming season and seasons to come,” he said.

In his address at the close of the 2016 tobacco selling season last month, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya announced that farmers who sold their crop during the 2016 marketing season will receive $30 million as a export incentive.

The announcement came after over 73 343 growers delivered 202 million kilogrammes of the golden leaf during the 2015/16 marketing season, earning just short of $600 million.

Dr Mangudya said the export incentive would be enjoyed by all exporters in the country to encourage production and exports so as to ease the cash shortages Zimbabwe has been facing since April this year.

Tobacco is one of the biggest foreign currency earners along with minerals such as gold and platinum.

@okazunga