Buyers asked to procure tobacco at market prices

19Apr 2023
Friday Simbaya
Iringa
Business
The Guardian
Buyers asked to procure tobacco at market prices

Iringa Regional Commissioner, Halima Omari Dendego, has asked tobacco buyers to produre the leaves at the international markets price, to ensure reasonable income for farmers.

A cross section of tobacco stakeholders who attended the meeting held in Iringa region on Monday this week. (Photo by Friday Simbaya)

She said this following the reports that there are tobacco buyers who are exploiting farmers by buying the crop at the prices that do not match with those of the market.

Dendego said this on Monday during the tobacco stakeholders meeting convened to discuss the challenges and future tobacco grading held in Iringa region. Such last meeting was held 12 years ago.

She said that buyers who procure tobacco at good prices will motivate farmers to continue producing the crop, which contributes to foreign exchange earnings.

"If the prices are low and exploitative, this will discourage farmers and many will stop producing; at the end of the day; there will be no tobacco processing factories and there will also be no jobs..." emphasized Dendego.

She said in order to have a sustainable production of tobacco; the value chain of the crop must be given a new impetus and by seeing the importance of every partner.

The Regional Commissioner also asked farmers in Iringa region to increase the production of the crops like other regions, since the region least producer of crop, compared with regions, specifically Ruvuma.

She also asked the experts, agricultural cooperative officers in the region to ensure that the tobacco crop gets a new impetus to stimulate the regional economy.

On his part, the Director General of the Tanzania Tobacco Board (TTB), Stanley Nelson Mnozya asked companies buying tobacco from farmers to procure through cooperatives.

He called for farmers to not sell tobacco to companies which are not licensed.

"Farmers should not sell tobacco to companies that do not have a license from the board..." said Mnozya.

 

Mnozya explained that the tobacco is a strategic crop that brings in a lot of foreign currency and contributes to the nation's income.

Mnozya has therefore requested the government to ensure timely availability of inputs to increase the crop productivity.

TTB has also asked farmers and various tobacco stakeholders to continue planting trees to conserve the environment, as tobacco currying uses a lot of trees.

The government is targeting to increase the crop production to 200 million kilos by 2025, according to the CCM Election manifesto (2020-2025).

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