Call for decentralization

The Tobacco Industry Development Support Institute for Southern Africa (TIDSI) is urging the Zimbabwean government to support tobacco farmers by facilitating the establishment of auction floors in various tobacco-growing regions, reports NewsDay.
Doing so, the institute argues, would reduce growers’ transportation expenses.
TIDSI Executive Director Jeffrey Takawira says the government should adopt policies similar to those that exist in the mineral-extraction industry.
“We have seen the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe through Fidelity Printers and Refiners creating mobile gold buying teams in mining and this can also be replicated for tobacco farmers,” he said.