Keep tobacco clean, farmers urged

KATAVI: TOBACCO farmers in the country have been asked to stop mixing waste with tobacco as the malpractice reduces the quality of the crop, lowering its price in the international market.

It has been stated that the act of mixing waste with tobacco compromises the quality of the produce which is one of the best in the world.

The Lake Tanganyika Cooperative Union (LATCU) Vice-Chairman, Mr Philbert Ngalu made the revelation while speaking with tobacco farmers during the 30th general meeting in Mpanda Municipality in Katavi Region.

Mr Ngalu urged farmers to shun away from mixing tobacco leaves with stones or other wastes to raise weight, saying such an act reduces the quality of the crop in the international market.

There are farmers with a tendency of putting stones and other things in tobacco leaves for the purpose of augmenting weight, something which affects the quality of the crop, affecting its price in the international markets.

The act of mixing waste with tobacco compromises the crop’s quality in the world. Echoing the sentiment of LATCU’s Vice Chairman,Katavi Regional Assistant Cooperative Society’s Registrar Mr Emanuel Sanka urged tobacco farmers to shun from applying unauthorised pesticides on tobacco farms because they reduce the quality of the crop, affecting its price in the international markets. He called upon LATCU to continue adhering to Cooperative Act No. 6 of 2013 and its principles.

One of the tobacco growers Mr Sadick Said revealed how some farmers have been putting waste such as stones to increase weight.

He called on extension officers to educate them so that they know how to properly handle the crop before taking it to the market. Initially LATCU’s Manager, Mr Pious Kilio said tobacco growers had realised 11,150,776 kilogrammes valued some 25.9 million US Dollars during 2022- 2023 season.

“Tobacco farmers are projecting to realise some 20 million kgs of the crop this 2023- 2024 season,” added Mr Kilio. He further said that there are three tobacco companies purchasing tobacco leafs from farmers including Premium Active Tanzania Ltd, Mkwawa Leaf Tobacco Ltd and Obamco Tobacco Ltd. According to Tanzania Tobacco Industry Outlook 2022–2026 report, the country’s tobacco output is projected to reach 140,000 metric tonnes by 2026, up from 124,000 metric tons in 2021.

According to the outlook report, the country experienced a growth of 2.1 per cent year-on-year is in line with an average growth rate of 3.2 per cent since 1966. Tanzania ranked ninth in 2021 after Bangladesh overtook with a production of 124,000 tonnes. India, Brazil, and Zimbabwe respectively ranked second, third, and fourth.