eBusiness Weekly
Elita Chikwati
HARARE – The majority of the country’s tobacco growers are still relying on firewood to cure their crop as the alternative fuel – coal – has become difficult to access due to logistical factors. According to farmers coal is not an expensive fuel source, but they have been facing logistical challenges to ferry the commodity from Hwange to farming areas.
The farmers said the situation has been made worse by the fact that the National Railways of Zimbabwe has not been functional. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Mr Wonder Chabikwa said coal was affordable but it was difficult to move it from, Hwange to farming areas.
“The NRZ has not been operational and this also affected the movement of coal from Hwange to farming areas. Farmers cannot rely on private transporters as the costs are high and it becomes unviable. The transport costs differ with the distance from Hwange to the farm. Farmers will always look for cheaper alternative will end up using firewood.
“If the NRZ improves farmers can access coal easily. While most farmers use firewood to cure their crop, most large scale and A2 farmers who are contracted have established woodlots and harvest wood from their plots.
Government re-introduced a 1, 5 percent tobacco levy on sales by growers in 2014 to finance re-forestation activities such as awareness campaigns and training. The levy was also meant to assist farmers establish woodlots. The levy was later cut down to 0, 075 percent but since 2014, farmers have not benefitted from the fund.
Mr Chabikwa raised concern over the delays in the distribution of the tobacco levy to farmers. He said it was unfortunate that farmers continued to be levied but were not accessing the funds.
“We are still waiting for the afforestation levy to enable farmers, mostly small scale to establish woodlots to reduce deforestation,” he said.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) confirmed that majority of tobacco growers were using firewood to cure their crop. TIMB corporate communications manager Mr Isheunesu Moyo yesterday said 60 percent of tobacco growers are currently reliant on firewood.
“40 percent of the crop is cured using coal while 60 percent use firewood. We are also promoting the use of energy saving barns. The Tobacco Research Board has come up with an energy saving barn to reduce the cutting down of trees for tobacco curing. We continue to promote the construction of energy saving barns and exploring the use of solar in curing of tobacco,” he said.
On the afforestation levy, Mr Moyo said TIMB was still waiting for Government’s approval to access the afforestation levy.
“We are still waiting for the approval of the constitution guiding on how the fund is to be used,” he said.
Tobacco is an important cash crop and has helped to enhance the livelihoods of thousands of farmers, workers and their families across the country. In Zimbabwe, nearly 100 000 farmers engage in tobacco production while close to one million people are directly dependent on the “golden leaf”. Tobacco generates 30 percent of the country’s foreign currency, bringing an average of $600 million annually.
