Chinese company to contract 80,000 Zimbabwean tobacco growers

The Chinese company Midriver Enterprises is expected to contract nearly 80,000 Zimbabwean farmers to produce tobacco during the 2013-2014 season, according to a story in the Zimbabwe Herald.

And because some farmers have been facing financial problems, the company will offer to supply them with inputs and working capital to pay wages. The company will supply also coal for curing so as to reduce deforestation and promote sustainable practices.

Midriver’s production manager, Johannes Muchimika, said that most farmers had not been producing high-quality crops because they had had limited inputs. Farmers would apply inadequate amounts of fertilizers because of financial constraints, he added.

In addition, Muchimika said, some farmers had faced difficulties paying workers, especially for reaping and curing, a situation that had resulted in huge losses.

Midriver, which will buy the crop from the contracted farmers, says it will provide the inputs at reasonable prices to farmers since it would be buying them directly from the manufacturers.