Tobacco growers in Zimbabwe are pleading with the Government to consider allocating them a higher percentage of foreign currency when they sell their crop during the 2019 marketing season, according to a story in The Chronicle.
This, they say, will mean that they can return to the fields and remain viable.
The growers were quoted as saying that, considering the high costs of production they incurred during this growing season, it would be ideal if they were paid the bulk of their money in foreign currency.
A grower in the Goromonzi district of Mashonaland East Province, Boniface Chitate, was quoted as saying that he was expecting higher prices during this marketing season and part of his payment in foreign currency.
“We need to import implements and these require foreign currency,” he was quoted as saying. “Currently farmers are relying on buying foreign currency at the parallel market and this is not viable.
“The situation is worse for self-financed farmers as we sometimes have to fund our tobacco crop using proceeds from other enterprises. We commend the Government for letting us import some commodities duty-free, but we still require foreign currency,” he said.