A Female Tobacco Farmer’s story

Grace Gohori (41), a tobacco farmer at Alsace Farm in Beatrice started farming tobacco in 2007 and is one of the over 8000 women farming tobacco in Zimbabwe.

“My yield averaged 3,500 kilograms per hectare on my three hectare plot although the season was characterized by long dry spells, and this is up from about a 1,000 kilograms when I did not have the drip facility”,said Gohori.

“Drip irrigation improves quality and yield per hectare and more farmers, particularly women need to apply for this initiative offered by TIMB” Gohori added.

Gohori also uses the drip facility to water her vegetables, tomatoes, cabbages and onions which she sells in Mbare as well as export to Zambia.Gohori also has a butchery and poultry rearing project targeting the local market.

“Tobacco has transformed my life as I virtually had nothing when I started but now I have a truck that I use to ferry bales as well as horticultural produce to the market”, she said.

“Although my main focus is tobacco farming, as a farmer you cannot put all your eggs in one basket hence I have diversified into horticulture and this not only enables me to rotate my crops but increases my revenue base as well as support my tobacco farming activities. I cannot say I have made it yet but am surely on course” said Gohori.

She added : “As tobacco farmers we produce for the market and need to meet demand, hence we need to understand the market, for instance some buyers pay more for lemon styles while other pay better for mahogany styles. Time is also a factor as I attained $4.99 per kg at the beginning of the season but prices waned as the season progressed.”

Gohori encouraged women that have land to be productive and venture into tobacco farming as women already have patience to their favour, something she said is essential in tobacco production.

“Whatever men can do, women can do better. Women should learn to farm tobacco because it has good returns as long as one studies the market, does not take short cuts, is resilient and pays attention to detail as the crop needs monitoring and extra care so as to protect it from diseases” she added.

As a tobacco grower, Gohori said she encountered a number of challenges during the season; chief among them being financial constraints.

“For instance, hiring a tractor to plough or to ridge a hectare costs $100. I hope financial inclusion was not all talk and we will soon start seeing banks extending low interest loan facilities to us since we now have track records as tobacco farmers”, said Gohori.

“The whole idea is to manage costs and maximize on productivity hence to minimize drip irrigation fuel costs, we schedule our planting so that we benefit from the rains and do not use drip irrigation through and through. I use drip irrigation when the crop is showing signs of stress. We also intend to apply for energy efficient rocket barns scheme so as to reduce costs on curing fuel”, Gohori added on.

TIMB has been rolling out for two years both drip irrigation scheme as well as a rocket barn construction program targeting small scale tobacco farmers.

Gohori urged women to engage in economically emancipating tobacco farming and encouraged the generality of the population to desist from starting veld fires as they are not only counter productive but are a threat to the environment. 

For additional Information contact
TIMB on telephone numbers 08677004624/6 or 0772145166/9 or 0279-22082/21982 or 025-3439 or 067-24268/29246 or 0277-2700 or 064-7280 or 0271-6772 or Toll Free
Number 08006003 / 0731999999 or E-mail: info@timb.co.zw

Experiences of a tobacco farmer

David Danger (54), a tobacco farmer from Headlands in Manicaland Province started tobacco farming in 1997 at Graham Ross’ farm as a farm labourer, and his has been a tale of from rags to riches.

“At first we wore shirts torn in the back but we were committed to succeed.”Today, Danger is a proud owner of 25 herd of cattle and has managed to install a borehole and a solar system at his household.

''Graham Ross saw how committed I was to my work and my eagerness to learn as well as skill and he promoted me to be his farm manager, Danger said.''

''He encouraged me to do something on the side and now am a tobacco farmer in my own right as I produce tobacco on three hectares and maize on one hectare, besides working on Ross’ farm, he added.''

''Ross has been supportive of my farming activities and has given me his old equipment including tractors after he bought new equipment.''

''One thing I learnt from Ross’s management style is that he is always on the ground as he is not a cell phone farmer. This season I managed to produce 3000kgs per hectare at an average price of $4.00 per hectare at my plot .''said Danger.

The national average yield per hectare is 2200 kilograms per hectare at an average price of $2.94 per kg.

Danger attributed his good returns to good agronomic practices and discipline.
  
“Planning is a critical success factor in tobacco farming, for instance, to be a successful farmer, one should ensure that they have adequate barn space to avoid wastage as leaves rot” said Danger.

He added:  “The same concept applies to seedbed as three beds of seedling can give you a hectare of tobacco and three hectares would require nine beds of conventional seedbeds.”

Danger emphasized the importance of uniformity right from the seedbed as he mentioned the need for farmers to avoid borrowing seedlings of different size and quality so as to have a uniform crop.

Danger also urged growers to conduct soil testing annually to check the balance of the soil nutrients so that they would be in a position to add the necessary nutrients in recommended quantities such as nitrogen, phosphate and potassium amongst others.

One cost effective practice that Danger adopted is manual basal fertiliser application using cup numbers 22 and 16 on either side of the plant as opposed to using a tractor.

“We used to ridge with a tractor and ridger until we realised that as the tractor turned at the end of the field, we lost a lot of fertiliser.”

Danger also emphasized the need to study the selling environment and make appropriate decisions.

“I changed the floor where I was selling after having not been happy with the prices; thereafter I fetched good prices of $4.99 per kilogram.''

“Since I don’t have irrigation equipment, I use bed or normal ridges because they conserve lots of moisture. I am also considering the drip irrigation programme offered by Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board.”

As a way of managing the farm, Danger also follows meteorology services reports and maintain records of activities.
“Last season we planted on the 15^th of September and for this season, the start of the rain season will determine when we transplant onto the field”, he said

Danger does not have a firewood plantation hence for curing he relies on buying sustainably produced firewood from Hunyani Forests.

“I do not have woodlots because my space is limited. I however do not use indigenous trees as I know implications to the environment. I buy wood for curing from Hunyani”, Danger said.

David Danger, scooped the TIMB first prize for the best tobacco exhibit at Makoni Agricultural Show on Friday, 9^th September 2016 where he walked away with one hectare implements courtesy of the TIMB.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has been holding similar competitions at different provincial and district agricultural shows around the country with an intention of promoting good quality Zimbabwe flavoured tobacco, the country is renowned for.

At the national level, different partners joined hands to sponsor prizes at the Harare Agricultural Show, something which has been absent for 17 years.

The national prize was won by Craig Dankweats of Peacey Estates Mashonaland East Province while number two went to Cecilia Jim and number three went to Jonathan Musoki of Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central respectively.

 

For additional Information contact
TIMB on telephone numbers 0772145166/9 or 0279-22082/21982 or 025-3439 or 067-24268/29246 or 0277-2700 or 064-7280 or 0271-6772 or Toll Free
Number 08006003 / 0731999999 or E-mail: info@timb.co.zw

 

 

Perspectives of a tobacco farmer.

Knowledge Madondo is a small scale tobacco farmer who is based in Odzi area in Mutare.

He has been into tobacco farming for four years and this year he experienced a bumper harvest as his crop yielded more than expected although he practiced dry land cropping.

He planted two hectares (2ha) with KRK 26 variety of the tobacco crop and managed to harvest four thousand kilograms (4 000 kg) of tobacco.

Madondo attributes his yield to having ploughed early and water conservation techniques he used.

“My last season’s yields were good because I was guided by my contractor to do early ploughing as it helps conserves moisture by inhibiting evaporation from the soil because dry land ploughing requires drought management as the rainfalls are unpredictable” said Madondo.

He stated that he was satisfied with being a tobacco grower as it is profitable as he is able to provide for his family and his fortunes have improved whilst he is also able to positively contribute to the economy of the country.

“I cannot think of farming anything else besides tobacco because from my profit i can easily take care of my wife and send my two children to school. I also contribute to the country’s economic activity as I hire men and women whom I work with throughout the farming season”

“I have also managed to buy a car with what I got from the last seasons and I can see progress in my life” Madondo added.

Madondo however said he faced different challenges which involve shortage of equipment and skilled labour during the farming season.

“We don’t have enough equipment; we use cows and an ox-drawn plough. When it is time for harvesting we use scotch-carts and we lose lots of tobacco as it breaks along the way”.

He added that it is consequently important that tobacco contractors invest in the small scale farmers by issuing out them farming inputs, required skills and possibly mechanized equipment such as tractors.

Madondo also highlighted the need for the industry to keep farmers abreast with means and ways to adapt climate change so as to keep the industry lucrative for the farmers.

“We need people who will help us monitor the crop and guide us through the season. If the crop is affected by a disease for instance or the leaf turns a certain color, experts should be readily available to guide us accordingly with regards to how we are to address the situation we will be seized with if we are to produce a good quality crop.”

Besides tobacco farming, Madondo also earns an income from welding.

Madondo is one of the over 80 000 tobacco farmers who collectively earned 600 million in A the 2015/2016 tobacco farming season.

The 2015/2016 saw an increase in yield per hectare and the country yielding more tobacco than the 2014/2015 season although the season had been characterized by the El-Nino weather phenomena.

As a sign of improving agronomic practices, bale rejection rate for the season was lower by 17 percent compared to the previous season.

For additional Information contact
TIMB on telephone numbers 0772145166/9 or 0279-22082/21982 or 025-3439 or 067-24268/29246 or 0277-2700 or 064-7280 or 0271-6772 or Toll Free
Number 08006003 / 0731999999 or E-mail: info@timb.co.zw

Nitrogen levels to be kept at optimum levels for good quality tobacco crop and yields.

Buhle Nkomo
Tobacco farmers are urged to maintain nitrogen levels at ideal levels from seedbed up to curing of tobacco to improve yields as excessive nitrogen may lead to brittle leaves and a reduction of plant population which in turn may increase the famers cost in doing gap filling.

Monitoring of a balanced supply of nitrogen should be well-thought-out from the seedbed stage because if not so, it might compromise the quality of the anticipated yield because nitrogen affects the growth of tobacco more than any other nutrient.

When tobacco seedlings are transplanted with excessive nitrogen it will result in transplanting shock therefore reducing plant population, which in turn will increase farmer’s cost of production as a result of gap filling.

Apart from the initial soil testing, to achieve a balanced supply of nitrogen in a plant, farmers are urged to apply the correct amount of fertilizer at the suitable times and by the time the plant has eight to twelve leaves one should be through with ammonium nitrate top dressing.

The amount of ammonium nitrate to be applied is dependent on soil type and variety of tobacco sown, for example on sandy soils early ploughed or second year requires 15-40 kg N/ha while late ploughed 35-70kg N/ha while sandy loams, early ploughed requires 10-30 N/ha while late ploughed 30-55 N/ha.

In sandy clay loams or heavier soils, 20-55 kg N/ha is required and noteworthy is that mineralization should occur when the soils are moist.

The amount of rain received has effect on the nitrogen in the soil as heavy rains result in leaching.

There are several effects of excessive nitrogen on a tobacco crop.

One can detect excess nitrogen in their crop by the outlook of the crop as the leaves turn very green, long and thin with chances of getting thicker as crop matures, however maturity can delay.

Sometimes nitrogen results in a bushy big plant with thin leaves, making the plant susceptible to diseases as the leaf would be easily attacked by pathogens.

Nitrogen excess may promote sucker growth and the process of removing suckers increase labour costs as well as reduce leaf size.

Excess nitrogen can make leaves brittle resulting in a lot of leaf damage during field operations resulting in reduced harvested leaves.

The plant may also delay maturity leading to difficult curing.

In the barn leaves with excess nitrogen turn black on every area concentrated with nitrogen and in certain instances it may cause leaf rotting.

It is therefore worth noting that the proportion of scrap and fines is higher than leaf in a crop with excess nitrogen, translating to a reduction in yield.

In addition farmers should also watch out for the deficiency of nitrogen on their tobacco crops as this can also compromise the quality of the yield.

Nitrogen deficiency may result in retarded growth, which means leaves will have a pale green colour.

Lower leaves may prematurely turn yellow while in some instances leaves will be small and dry up.

Reduced nitrogen affects the stem of the tobacco plant as it will be short and slender with pointed leaves.

Less nitrogen may also cause potassium firing which can be described as mottling and brownish –yellow spots which are usually confined to the leaf tips and may result in a ragged leaf.

The tobacco marketing season came to an end on Wednesday with 200 million kgs having been sold this season.

Farmers are encouraged to register for the 2016/2017 season, to attend training workshops offered by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board in the districts as well as to destroy stalks for those who may not have done so yet.

Written By Buhle Nkomo

For additional Information contact
TIMB on telephone numbers 0772145166/9 or 0279-22082/21982 or 025-3439 or 067-24268/29246 or 0277-2700 or 064-7280 or 0271-6772 or Toll Free
Number 0731999999 or E-mail: info@timb.co.zw

Farmers urged to adopt Intergrated Pest management

Pests are a serious threat to the lucrative tobacco business as they affect yield, quality and ultimately profit margins.

Farmers are therefore encouraged to employ effective pest management methods from the seedbed right through to the destruction of stalks.  

Integrated pest management (IPM) entails combining several methods of lowering pest levels in the crop including prevention, cultural, physical, biological control and use of pesticides

 

Prevention reduces the need for pesticides as it aims to destroy hosts for pests and in so doing prevent the carryover of diseases.

 

Legislative dates sets the date for destruction of seedbeds as December 31 and for destruction of stalks as May 15. 

Following the legislative dates and removing stalks on time ensures that there is no regrowth of plants from preceding season and that food sources for pests are destroyed.

It is critical that growers adhere to 1egislative dates such as the earliest day for sowing which falls on the 1^st of June and earliest day for transplanting which is the 1^st of September, to avoid carryover of diseases.

Prevention enables farmers to manage costs and in the same vein maximize on profits as aphids are the main transmitter of diseases, especially bushy-top and the potato virus Y (PVY).

Tobacco planted around September October may not be affected by tobacco aphids whose peak period is in November December hence timing of planting can help in the prevention of pests.

This is particularly so as around November December one will be topping, an activity which helps in controlling aphid population as it thickens the tobacco leaves and results in the increase in chemical substances known as alkaloids that help fight off aphids and diseases.

Crops which provide alternate hosts to tobacco problem pests such as cabbage, tomatoes and potatoes should be avoided during the season.

Farmers are also encouraged to inspect different parts of their field for the presence of pests in the seedbeds or the field, observing the upper and lower sides of the leaves, as well as the bud and the stem.

Wilted and stunted plants should be uprooted, and roots together with the soil around examined for soil borne pests such as cutworms and wire-worms.

Farmers can approach Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), Agriculture Research Extension (AGRITEX) or the Tobacco Research Board (TRB) with samples of pests or wilted or stunted plants to get advice on how to best deal with the situation they will be faced with.  

Management of pests is best done from an informed position with appropriate amounts of pesticides as using excess is unnecessarily expensive while application of wrong pesticides leads to pest resistance, pest resurgence and environmental pollution.

Pesticides if not being applied as a preventative measure ought to be applied at the right time using the right method and rate for them to be effective.

Tobacco farmers should be abreast with approved chemicals and pesticides as residue from unapproved chemicals such as Acephate, Monocrotophos, Fenvalerate and Methamidophos if found in the crop will result in the rejection of the produce.

There are also organisms known as farmers’ friends in the integrated pest management as they regulate to some extent population of pests, although these cannot wholly be relied on.

Meanwhile, farmers are encouraged to register for the 2017 season and to submit estimates before the 31^st of October 2016 to avoid paying penalties.

 

The crop of the flue cured tobacco sold to date is 197 million kilograms.

 

For additional Information contact
TIMB on telephone numbers 0772145166/9 or 0279-22082/21982 or 025-3439 or 067-24268/29246 or 0277-2700 or 064-7280 or 0271-6772 or Toll Free Number 0731999999 or E-mail: info@timb.co.zw

 

 

Recommended tobacco transplanting practices.

Buhle Nkomo

September 1 is the earliest legislative date for transplanting tobacco from the seedbed to the field.
The assumption is , stalks, which are hosts for pests and agents for the  carryover of diseases , were destroyed on or before the May 15.

Before transplanting  tobacco one ought to ensure that land has been prepared through  ploughing and discing .Appropriate ridging and digging of planting holes should also be done .

Discing is done  to break soil clods into a fine tilth to enhance uniform ground therefore allowing the equal distribution of water. At least five litres of water must be applied per planting station two weeks before transplanting commences. This is aimed at linking the applied water with the ground water or residual moisture.

Farmers are encouraged to transplant ideal seedlings. Ideal seedlings should have been hardened  to prepare them for the anticipated harsh field conditions

The seedlings should be pencil thick in diameter and about 15cm in length for the conventional seedbeds and 12cm for the float tray system.

Seedlings ought to be clipped  before the transplanting so that evapotranspiration is minimised and to ensure they are of the same size .Uniform seedlings should be selected to attain a uniform crop and  should be erected erected  in the planting hole  while there is still water.

It is very important that the seedling must be firm in the planting hole and if seedlings are too long they should be planted as deep as possible to avoid goose necks.

Most importantly , farmers should ensure that only seedlings which are enough to be planted are pulled out . They should not be allowed to come in contact with surface heat and preferably should keep in a shed with vlei grass covering them.

Seedbeds can, however, be maintained until December 31as farmers may need to do gap filling or for other reasons .Gap filling is mostly done 10 to 14 days after transplanting so that uniformity is maintained in the crop.
Tobacco growers should apply systemic aphicides and nematicides during the transplanting  stage of tobacco of tobacco to avoid the spread of insect transmitted diseases.

A systemic aphicide is an insecticide which is used to guard against aphids while a nematicide is an insecticide used to kill parasitic nematodes.

Aphicides such as  actara should be applied for plant root uptake to protect the plant from aphids for a period of six to eight weeks from transplanting time. These are applied through  inserting them in the planting hole before the water sinks ahead of planting .

Another systemic aphicide that can be applied in the planting hole is imidacloprid so that it is integrated into the crop system for prevention against aphid attack.Aphicides help in reducing the spread of insect transmitted diseases and also guard the tobacco plant from having a bushy top.

Pesticides are applied to avoid nodules which are ground insects that chew on the roots and stem of the crop.

In addition farmers are urged to apply nematicides in a bid to fight nematodes which cause galls on the plant roots that inhibit the movement of water and nutrients from the soil into the plant, resulting in reduced leaf weight.

As the water in the holes sink, Compound B or Compound C fertiliser should be applied as recommended by the Tobacco Research Board .

Top dressing should be applied not too far nor too close to the plant as phosphates should be accessible as early as possible as they are not mobile in the soil.

The planting holes must be covered with dry soil soon after planting so that moisture does not get lost through evaporation.

For additional information contact TIMB on telephone numbers 0772145516/9 or 0277-2700 or 064-7280 or 0271-6772 or Toll free Number 08006003/0731999999 or E-mail: info@timb.co.zw

Published in The Herald :01.09.2016