Zimbabwe’s farmers have so far put about 7,000 ha under flue-cured tobacco, a figure that is almost 50 percent lower than that recorded by the same time last year, according to a story in The Herald.
The latest weekly statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board show that farmers have put 6,572 ha under the crop so far this season, which compares with 11,945 ha during the same period of the previous season.
The president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union, Wonder Chabikwa, said the decline in tobacco hectarage was due to farmers being wary of the climatic conditions this season, with rainfall forecasts pointing to an El Nino effect.
“Tobacco hectarage this year is lower than that of last year due to farmers being cautious about the quality of the rainy season,” he said.
“They may decide to increase the hectarage after the first rains.”
Early plantings down
