TABORA: TABORA’S farmers have sold 30 million kilogrammes of tobacco two weeks after the opening of this year’s season, painting a promising picture ahead.
The regional target is to produce 170 million tonnes of the leaves this season. Tabora Regional Commissioner Paulo Chacha warned the unfaithful farmers against the malpractice of adulteration of the tobacco leaves to purportedly increase the weight, saying it destroys the quality of the produce.
“There is a farmers’ malpractice tendency of mixing some very low-grade leaves with a few high-grade tobacco leaves on top of the bales, thus cheating classification officers from Tanzania Tobacco Board to get high grades,” he said.
The RC said the practice is causing losses to tobacco buying companies, and on top of that tarnishing the quality of their tobacco leaves and the country as well.
The RC spoke recently after his official visit and subsequent inaugural of the consolidated tobacco sales market warehouses built by Alliance Tobacco Tanzania Limited (AOTL) at the Inala area in Tabora.
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He mentioned another uncouth behaviour blatantly seen in the sub-sector perpetrated by some irresponsible farmers by breaching their contract and selling the tobacco crop to a fresh buy. The contract terms provide some inputs’ loans to farmers and the entire process is closely monitored.
“The government is working towards fixing the issue and the culprit will face stern measures. We will leave no stone unturned until we bring to an end to this behaviours that are downplaying the sub-sector potential,” he said.
Tabora region heavily depends on tobacco as a major means of its economy, therefore the RC said his secretariat would always endeavor to create and maintain an enabling environment for investors and good-mannered farmers alike. AOTL Leaf Production Director David Mayunga said his company had strategically supported the investment of 26.8bn/- to build the warehouses.
“Farmers can now bring all their tobacco here, as we can easily and quickly complete selling and buying in a shorter period compared to traditional markets which used to take more than six months,” he said.
Mr Mayunga mentioned challenges that farmers encountered during this year’s crop season, include presence of some substandard fertilizers and other inputs, which penetrated the market at the expense of the quality of the crop.
“We also had too much rain this year, which was frequently washing away the applied fertilizer immediately after application. In other areas the rain wreaked havoc on tobacco curing barns, hence complicating the tobacco curing process,” he said.
A farmer Tausi Juma from Ibushi in Nzega district said the new markets would enable them to sell their crop in a relatively shorter time, unlike in the past seasons in which almost two months were used to finish selling their crop.
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