Zimbabwe Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board have started training Tobacco farmers on farming practices to improve output and quality of the crop. The move follows poor prices that accompanied the start of the selling season early this year
Zimbabwe’s Tobacco regulatory board is keen to avoid a repeat of what happened early this year. Farmers protested over poor prices in March when the tobacco season opened. Drought and floods affected both the quantity and quality of the crop. About 20,000 farmers will now undergo training on agronomic practices which include Land preparation, grading and baling.
In 2014, about 17,000 farmers underwent training. The board hopes next season, the gold leaf will fetch a better price. Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe’s country’s top revenue earner and accounts for a tenth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. The industry has now 88,000 growers up from 52,000 in 2012.
