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Lovemore Kadzura Rusape Correspondent
Tobacco farmers who are unhappy with a ceiling price of $4,99 per kg imposed by merchants at the auction floors and other challenges they face, have formed a new union to represent their interests.

The new union – the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust – is led by Mr Victor Mariranyika.

“Large and small-scale tobacco farmers from across the country have found it vital to form a union that fully represents their interests,” he said. “We did so after we realised that the challenges we face every season are not being addressed properly, hence the need to have a union that airs our concerns.

“Tobacco farming is a very lucrative venture if farmers get the appropriate prices at the auction floors. We feel if we speak with one coordinated voice our concerns will be heard and addressed to allow normalcy to return to the sector.

“There seems to be a well-knit cartel of merchants and buyers who are reaping where they did not sow and previous efforts to break them have yielded nothing. We do not want farmers to quit tobacco farming, but they must get the best out of their efforts.”

Mr Mariranyika told The Herald that farmers were being manipulated at the auction floors, adding that they felt let down by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) for allegedly failing to represent and protect them, especially after it introduced its contract programme for farmers.

“Since contract farming started, it seems the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has neglected us since we feel they are now compromised as the player and referee at the same time,” he    said.

“We are now vulnerable to unscrupulous merchants who are milking farmers.”

TIMB chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri recently defended his organisation’s involvement in contract farming, saying they were only assisting needy farmers left out by private contractors.

He said TIMB was performing its duties as the industry’s regulator very well.

Mr Mariranyika revealed that his organisation was not a cry baby, but would go a step further to train tobacco farmers on how to run their farms as business entities.

“We have started trainings and workshops where we are conscientising farmers on the need to professionalise their operations to get the maximum yields and profits, ultimately,” he said.

“Most small-scale farmers are not taking tobacco farming as a business and we want to change that. We will also cooperate with the Government in promoting sound national farming policies and also encourage farmers to practise sustainable agriculture, especially when it comes to curing of tobacco as most of the farmers are still using indigenous trees.”