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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter

THE land planted under the tobacco crop in the 2019/20 cropping season has marginally decreased to 100 426 hectares countrywide compared to 106 558ha in the 2018/19 season.

Latest statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), show that out of the total area planted, 15 905ha were under irrigation while 84 521ha were dryland farming.

During the same period last year, 17 989ha were planted under irrigation while 88 569ha were under dryland farming.

TIMB also indicated that of the country’s seven tobacco growing regions, Matabeleland region, does not have a single farmer that planted tobacco in the 2019/20 cropping season though three farmers had registered to grow the crop. 

The other six regions where the crop had been planted this season are Mashonaland West recording 38 746 growers, the highest figure for the period under review followed by Mashonaland Central with 26 973, Mashonaland East (19 807), Manicaland (14 632), Midlands (249) and Masvingo (19).

In terms of the new growers, TIMB said there were 7 504 farmers as at February 13, 2020 compared to 41 121 during the comparable period last year. 

Efforts to get a comment from TIMB chief executive officer Dr Andrew Matibiri and the Zimbabwe Federation of Farmers’ Union president Mr Wonder Chabikwa were unsuccessful as their mobile phones were not being answered.

Meanwhile, the country’s tobacco output is expected to decline by 13 percent to 225 million kg this year from a record high of 259 million kg in the last season due to drought.

The 2019/20 summer cropping season has been adversely affected by erratic rains.

Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe’s top foreign currency earners and the country generates an estimated US$1 billion annually from exporting the crop to countries such as China, United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Africa, Indonesia and Egypt. — @okazunga