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Yvonne Mutava
What Lazarus Dhlandlara’s mother had in mind was far from what he wanted.

Like most mothers, his mother wanted him to get into the corporate world but he had other ideas.

“My mother wanted me to become a nurse or managing director of a company or do some other white collar job yet my passion has always been farming,” said Lazarus Dhlandlara (52).

Being a farmer herself, she did not want her son to go through the struggles she faced.

“My mother grew burley tobacco in the Nyamaropa irrigation scheme in Nyanga and I am sure she did not want me to spend my life in the fields producing tobacco because it is a lot of hard work,” Dhlandlara said.

From her proceeds as a burley farmer, she managed to see Dhlandlara and his brother through school.

“I learnt the ropes of the trade at a tender age and have no formal training in tobacco farming besides the years of experience on my side.

Dhlandlara tried the conventional route of employment but the sense of fulfilment was nowhere to be found.

“After years of formal employment, I realised that I am not really happy with being in an office. I quit my job and begun tobacco farming on a full-time basis,” he said.

Dhlandlara takes his job seriously.

“Farming is not a hobby for me, I have to be present at every stage, monitoring everything and, that makes a difference.

His family also shares his vision.

“Lucia, my wife has been supportive as the journey is not always smooth sailing.

“The difference between myself and my mother is she was more of into subsistence farming whilst for me farming is a business and I can excel in life the same way people with white collar jobs do.

Unlike other jobs, without dedication farming success is hard to attain.

“For everyone else who may want to venture into the farming business, this industry is demanding but it is important to develop a passion,” he said.

There is no room for compromise or complacency.

“I urge all the farmers to be committed and always keep records of whatever operations and developments in the growing of the crop for later use; that way one will never go wrong.

Dhlandlara does not only do the traditional farming, he has sprinkled innovation into his processes.

“I decided to take it a notch up and ventured into cigar wrapper farming.

“Cigar wrapper is demanding, from the word go it needs a lot of care and crop hygiene must always be a priority as spotted or perforated leaf is unwanted,” he said.

His trade demands high levels of precision.

“Grade one and two need to be very clean and soft with a good texture therefore crop handling must be like nursing a baby,” he said.

He added, “The good thing is after all has been said and done and you have produced a good crop, you look back and say ‘I will do another crop next season.”Business has been good for the farmer and his team.

“With the proceeds from both cigar wrapper and Virginia tobacco we are planning on mechanisation,” said Dhlandlara.

Unlike others who squander all their profits he has chosen a different path.

“We are at a developmental stage. The money we are getting is for developmental purposes.

We need to replace our tractor, build curing facilities for cigar wrapper as well as improve where we stay. We need tap water and to put electricity at our farm house,” he said.

His wife, Lucia also encouraged other women to actively participate, support their spouses as well as to take farming as a business. Cigar wrapper tobacco has been slowly gaining prominence over the last three seasons in Burma valley, replacing burley tobacco which ceased production in 2011.

The second season of cigar wrapper production had 14 small scale farmers and this season they have doubled in terms of numbers as well as area they farm. The opening price for the bale that was sold at the start of the cigar wrapper marketing season was $6 per kg.

In order to encourage the production of cigar wrapper, TIMB has been registering farmers for no charge whilst the Tobacco Research Board (TRB) is providing farmers with seed at no cost. The cigar wrapper tobacco is sold through decentralised contract sales conducted at Mapeto Farm in Burma Valley.

This localised sales arrangement makes it easier and cheaper for growers who bring the produce from surrounding farms. Zimbabwe is the third African country, after Cameroon and Kenya, to venture into the production of highly valued cigar wrapper tobacco

• 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 Numbers 08006003 / 0731999999 / 0712832804 or WhatsApp 0731999999 or E-mail: [email protected]