Attempts to boost falling tobacco production

As Zimbabwe's burley tobacco output continues to fall, the Air Cured Tobacco Association (ACTA) has resolved to take direct charge of marketing the crop in bid to restore price competitiveness and woo back farmers who abandoned it in favour of the flue-cured variety. According to ACTA chief executive officer David Shack, small-scale tobacco farmers have been steadily abandoning air-cured burley because of low returns, opting for the higher-priced flue-cured variety and its firmer market prices. He said the trend had contributed to a decline in the country's annual burley output: last year the country produced an estimated 1.5 million kg, but this was expected to decline to one million kg in 2004. "They [burley farmers] are also moving to other crops whose inputs are easily accessible and supported by farmer groupings," said Shack. ACTA was expected to assume responsibility for direct marketing of the product, as annual mass production had fallen to levels that could barely sustain a viable auction system. "By re-assessing the marketing strategy we also hope to maximise profits and lure back most of the farmers, because burley production is cheaper," Shack was quoted as saying in local newspapers. Shack also said ACTA would engage the government in working out how small-scale burley farmers could improve access to inputs. Meanwhile, the start of this year's selling season was characterised by farmers threatening to boycott auctions in protest against the low prices, blamed on the depressed exchange rate. About 68,000 kg of flue-cured tobacco worth Zim $449 million (US $128,000) had been sold by the close of the first week of business last Thursday. This marked a year-on-year decline of 7,000 kg for the first week of the auctions, from 75,000 kg to 68,000 kg. The major buyers were Burley Marketing Zimbabwe (BMZ), the Zimbabwe Industrial Tobacco Auction Centre (ZITAC) and Tobacco Sales Floors (TSF). Deliveries to the auction floors were affected by late deliveries of coal for the curing process, a situation reminiscent of last year when late deliveries were caused by the fuel crisis. Zimbabwe has dropped from being the region's leading tobacco producer to rank fifth after Zambia and Malawi, among other new producers. Both these countries have recorded significant growth in agricultural production as a result of absorbing specialised and experienced Zimbabwean commercial farmers, who were dispossessed of their farms under the government's controversial land seizure programme from early 2000 onwards.