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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
TOBACCO farmers have been urged to intensively employ moisture preservation techniques this season as part of efforts to produce a good crop in light of the forecast low rainfall pattern.

Zimbabwe is expected to receive normal to below normal rainfall after forecasts indicated that the El Niño phenomenon will once again grip the country.

In an interview, Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union (ZCFU) president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa, said it was imperative for farmers to preserve the moisture in the soil to mitigate the effects of El Niño on crops.

“During a drought, most crops will be affected, but tobacco can generally withstand negative conditions better,” he said.

“However, as long as farmers employ moisture preservation techniques, we do not expect lower yields.”

Mr Chabikwa said the country was likely to record another good yield this season.

According to statistics from the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB), the number of farmers who have registered to grow the golden leaf for the first time has grown by 24 percent to 30 013 from 24 264 last season.

However, Manicaland has only registered a two percent increase in the number of new growers. The figure has moved from 3 787 to 3 879 farmers.

There are 2 830 new communal tobacco farmers in the province while only 901 A1 farmers have expressed interest in growing the golden leaf and 111 A2 farmers have registered.

In total, there have been 15 575 registrations for the crop as compared to 12 584 during the same period last year.

Of that number, 7 188 are communal while 6 640 are A1 farmers and 731 are A2.

TIMB spokesperson, Mr Isheunesu Moyo, said the fact that the number of new growers had remained stagnant was not indicative of a poor season for the province.

“The total number of registered growers in Manicaland has grown by about 24 percent although the number of new growers has remained more or less the same over the last two seasons,” he said.

“This, however, does not mean farmers are losing interest in growing tobacco. We still have a good number of farmers in the province.”

Mr Moyo said TIMB was currently training farmers across the country on water conservation methods to ensure that this season’s crop was not affected by poor rainfall patterns.

“We are focussed on training farmers on ways to preserve moisture content as well as ways to conserve water,” he said.

“We also urge them to work closely with Agritex officers in their areas so that they may be guided accordingly throughout the season.

“We also urge them to group themselves into clusters and invite TIMB for further training sessions.

“These training sessions cover all aspects — from how to improve the quality of the crop to increasing yields.”