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Tag: stalk destruction

  • Zimbabwe Reminds Tobacco Farmers Stalk-Destruction Deadline Passed

    Zimbabwe Reminds Tobacco Farmers Stalk-Destruction Deadline Passed

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board reminded growers that the May 15 deadline for destroying all tobacco stalks has passed, urging immediate compliance to prevent the carry-over of pests and aphid-transmitted diseases into the 2026/27 season. Under Statutory Instrument 19 of 2008, farmers must completely uproot and destroy stalks to render plants incapable of regrowth, as part of an annual tobacco-free period designed to break pest and disease life cycles. Failure to comply attracts penalties of up to $100 per hectare for a first offence and $200 per hectare for repeat violations, alongside possible imprisonment. Authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Water Resources Development, and plant quarantine teams are conducting field inspections across tobacco-growing provinces as preparations begin for sowing seedbeds from June 1.

    TIMB is also urging farmers to conduct soil testing before planting to optimize fertilizer use, improve leaf quality, and reduce input costs, advising growers to work with laboratories, fertilizer suppliers, and government research departments. Additional compliance dates include no planting before September 1, clearing curing facilities by October 31, and destroying seedbed plants by January 1 each year.

  • Zimbabwe’s Stalk Destruction Reprieve Expires

    Zimbabwe’s Stalk Destruction Reprieve Expires

    To protect next year’s tobacco crop from pests and disease, Zimbabwe’s Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS) said it will be cracking down on farmers who still haven’t destroyed the stalks and roots from this year’s crop. Because of the late start to the season, the department gave farmers a three-week reprieve that ended June 5.

    “In the event of non-compliance, some fines [$100 per hectare) are imposed as per regulations,” said Dr. Dumisani Kutywayo, chief director  of the DR&SS. “A second or subsequent conviction will attract a fine not exceeding $200 for each hectare or part thereof in respect of which the offense is committed, or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both fine and imprisonment.”

    The director said all growers were required to adhere to all other dates to prevent the carryover of pests and diseases, however, those who are not able to meet this stipulated deadline are requested to apply for an extension to keep their tobacco in the fields.

    Figures from Zimbabwe’s National Statistics Agency show that tobacco export earnings rose from US$1.3 billion in 2023 to US$1.43 billion last year, with 2025 expected to be even better.