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Victoria  Ruzvidzo Business Focus
There are certain statistics and trends that seem to escape us as a nation as we focus on the challenges bedevilling the economy. I have not heard much applause to the fact that the tobacco industry was only a few kilogrammes shy of the all-time high of 236 million kg achieved in 2000. The fact that growers, mostly small-scale ones, managed to produce at least 204 million kilogrammes this season and after such a short space of time, calls for celebration.

Tobacco is this country’s largest foreign currency earner and a positive development in that sector bodes well for export earnings and an improved standard of living.

Although much of the selling at auction floors has been marred by several challenges, mainly to do with pricing, late bookings, ad hoc deliveries etcetera, the small growers deserve a pat on the back.

In their small way, they have managed to assist Zimbabwe reach production levels it has always been known for.
The slump experienced over the last decade as challenges that came with land reform took their toll, have dissipated as statistics would show.
At least 300 000 small-scale growers have joined the lucrative tobacco sector, a figure expected to increase over the next seasons.

Tobacco is largely a difficult crop to grow. It demands a certain skill, time and funds to achieve high quality production.
Our small-scale growers have largely overcome the challenges, producing a fairly good quality crop and ruling the roost at the auction floors.

The entire process from seedbed preparation to curing then grading is no easy task but we have seen the resettled farmers hold their own in the sector. Even communal farmers have put acres of land under tobacco. The results have not been disappointing.

Statistics released recently showed that US$650 million worth of tobacco has already been exported, with the farmers pocketing handsome figures for capital and for family needs.

We hear of big stories as lives for the small-scale growers have transformed significantly over the last few years. Many of the farmers are living the life they never thought possible before venturing into tobacco.

I have observed over the past few years as small-scale tobacco growers purchase items such as household furniture, clothing and other goodies for their family after a sale of the golden leaf.

Never mind the untidiness that had become the order of the day at auction floors and the tired faces that we would see queuing to sell their produce.

Parents are now sending school children to boarding schools from tobacco proceeds, coming from a situation where a few years ago they could not afford a pair of shoes or decent school uniform when they children would walk eight kilometres to the nearest school.

The quality of meals in such families has also improved significantly, depicting the decent standard of living that these growers are now living. With solar energy, many now have televisions and radios and lights in their houses as they move with technology.

Quite a few houses in the rural areas now have satellites dishes hanging, largely viewed as a status symbol and a sign that one has “arrived” or is almost there.

All this has a large bearing on the respective communities’ economy which will gradually feed into the macro-economy.
This is a direct result of the land reform, at least the better side of it.

Certainly we still have stories of purported farmers who grabbed land but have failed to make good use of it, costing the economy in the process.
The powers-that-be needs to deal with such situations expeditiously so all arable land can be put to good use.

But if the success tobacco story can be replicated in other agricultural sub sectors, the entire sector would transform significantly over the next few years, with it, the economy.

In terms of tobacco, all is not as rosy as it sounds. There is still so much that need attention.
The quality of the crop has largely been disappointing. This points to the fact that the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board and its partners need to continuously train growers on how best to grow, cure and bale tobacco so the farmers maintain the quality crop that Zimbabwe is renowned for.
Furthermore, the farmers need to be more orderly and organised in terms of registering as growers and booking sale dates.

The last stretch of the selling season that ended recently saw the bulk of the farmers rushing to contractors to evade poor prices on the floors.
This means that the whole selling matrix has to be revisited so that come next year there will be orderly selling.

Issues of under pricing by middlemen and all sorts of gimmicks that prejudiced the farmer this season should also be tackled.
Furthermore, proper curing processes should be applied to halt the massive deforestation witnessed in recent years as small growers use firewood for curing. This needs urgent attention before Zimbabwe is turned into a dessert by the thousands of farmers growing .

Agriculture is expected to grow by 9 percent this year as lumped together with hunting and fishing. Last year it had been expected to achieve a 6,4 percent growth but the figure was revised to -1,3 percent.

In the 1990s, horticulture had emerged as the sub sector that could carry agriculture but this has not been the case given the economic challenges that gripped the economy for more than a decade.
However, these stories can be revived if targeted strategies are employed.

If amazing results could be registered in tobacco, with all its complexities, it can surely happen in other sub sectors of agriculture.
Zimbabwe needs to continuously apply strategies that could revive all sectors of the economy so it can begin to fire from all cylinders.
Particular interest is naturally on agriculture as stakeholders are keen to see the positive effects of land redistribution.

A lot of mileage has been covered in this regard, barring recurrent droughts that have really impeded growth.
But dedicated efforts will yield a revived sector ad demonstrated by tobacco growers.

In God I Trust