Selling season start announced

Zimbabwe’s 2016 flue-cured tobacco selling season will open on March 30, according to a story in The Herald.

Twenty-three buyers have been licensed to purchase leaf on the auction floors and 15 merchants have received approval to conduct contract sales.

It is expected that about 160 million kg will be offered for sale.

Traditionally, flue-cured auction floors open in the middle of February but this year the opening has been delayed due to the effect of drought conditions that the country has suffered. Last year, the floors opened on March 4.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) chairperson, Monica Chinamasa, who announced the opening date, also advised farmers to adapt to climate change so as to maintain yields and total production.

“I call on all stakeholders and government entities to invest in tobacco irrigation to farmers with irrigable land to maintain our tobacco production in the country,” she said.

“The installation of drip irrigation system will also have a positive impact on food security besides improving productivity and quality,” she said.

The TIMB and Agribank have established a fund for the development and installation of drip irrigation systems for small-scale growers.