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.

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