eBusiness Weekly
Ishemunyoro Chingwere
TOBACCO contracting firm, Agritrade Leaf Tobacco (ALT), has set aside a US$400 000 budget for seedbed requirements for the next tobacco farming season.
This is one of the key measures meant to steer the contracting firm’s growth plans from the current 9 600 contract farmers in its database to 12 000 for the next growing season. In an interview with The Business Weekly, ALT field operations manager Kudakwashe Saringo, said the firm had already started distributing seedbed packs to farmers who would have paid off their debts.
The early seed bed disbursement, he said, is meant to help farmers plan better with input certainty as well as afford those in need of an early crop the opportunity to go to start preparations.
“We want to be seen assisting farmers to grow, in terms of their farming businesses,” Saringo told the Business Weekly.
“So this season what we are doing is to say as soon as a farmer pays off their debts, we immediately give them a seedbed package for the next farming season. Unlike in the past when farmers are made to wait for companies to start financing inputs, other farmers would prefer an early crop. We have invested about US$400 000 in seed packs. This year we have 9 600 seating contracted farmers but this time . . . we want to grow our database to about 12 000 financed farmers,” he said.
In reference to the current marketing season, Saringo said deliveries have of late been registering a steady increase after a slow start due to the payment uncertainty among some farmers.
However, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development have moved in to pacify farmer fears with assurances that those in need of the US dollar will get it while those paid in the RTGS$ will have it multiplied by the prevailing inter-bank exchange rate as opposed to the discarded “one as to one” between the local component and the US Dollar.
“Farmers are coming in with the crop,” said Saringo.
“Initially there was a bit of a challenge as the farmers opted for a wait and see attitude due to fears over payment, but I think now its sorted out. We have also heard farmers complaining about transportation costs to our floors, but this really should not be a worry. Farmers must just take advantage of our central pick up points so that we can transport the produce for them to the market,” he said.
ALT has been registering a steady growth in the tobacco sector over the last years.
Last year it surpassed its initial target contract farmers which had been set at 5 000 farmers. The 2017-18 season growth came on the back of yet another success story of 2016-17 season, which saw the firm selling 3,4 million kg of tobacco worth US$7,9 million at an average price of $2,32 per kg.
