ZIMBABWE
Mashonaland East has taken the lead over all the country’s provinces in terms of the hectarage that has been put under flue-cured tobacco, having 5,625 hectares of the cash crop out of the 15,296 ha planted countrywide.
Recent figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB)’s weekly bulletin show that the 15,296ha of tobacco planted throughout the country this year is a 0.9% increase from the 15,154ha planted in the same period last year. The bulk of the tobacco hectarage, or 13, 947ha, is under irrigation, while 1,349ha is under dry land.
Mashonaland East is followed by Mashonaland West, which has 3,828ha of flue-cured tobacco, Mashonaland Central with 3,636ha, and Manicaland with 2,207ha. According to Wonder Chabikwa, Zimbabwe Farmers Union president, the planting season has been smooth since most farmers were producing the crop under contract.
“Planting is going on well,” he said. “Most farmers do not have funding challenges as they are under contract. The hot weather is not a huge challenge. Farmers should apply enough water when transplanting to support the plant.”
In the 2017 season, Zimbabwean farmers sold 189 million kg (m.kg) of flue-cured tobacco, of which 158 m.kg came from contract farmers and the remaining coming from self-financed farmers. The Zimbabwean government has since then come up with a US$20 million loan facility to support small-scale tobacco growers and ensure auction floors remain functional, following a realization that the bulk of flue-cured tobacco was being grown under the contract system.