Decentralisation of tobacco auction floors noble

Growing tobacco has been the boon for the Zimbabwe's economy and its farmers. The golden leaf is truly one of the country's major foreign currency earner generating an average of 800 million dollars annually. Each year the tobacco industry registers thousands of new tobacco farmers because of better prices associated with the golden leaf.

The increase in tobacco farmers and an increase in tobacco production gives pressure to the few tobacco auction floors which are all centralized in Harare hence the need to decongest them by decentralization.

During the 2016/2017 farming season, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) recorded a 15 percent increase in tobacco farmers, rising from 70 412 last season to 81301 .

Volumes of tobacco deliveries coming to Harare were previously low hence the reluctance to set up provincial auction floors. The call by Government for immediate decentralization of tobacco auction floors is highly commendable and will definitely come as a relief to tobacco farmers especially those from very remote parts of the country.

Tobacco farmers in areas like Hurungwe, Mudzi, Nyanga, Featherstone and other remote areas of the country which are far from the capital city where auction floors are found face numerous challenges among them high transport costs, accommodation and muggings at the congested Harare floors.

The increase in tobacco farmers and tobacco production calls for increased tobacco buying points across the country. Increasing tobacco buying points will undoubtedly address the challenges stated above. Cotton has numerous buying points which are meant to reduce travelling distances by farmers to the market and safeguard their profit. The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Limited) COTTCO recently announced that it currently has 400 buying points across the country which is good for the farmers. Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is also found in almost every district of the country and farmers can use even scotch carts to ferry their maize to the market. The same should also happen to the tobacco industry.

Farmers struggle to transport their tobacco to Harare over long distances and sometimes challenging road terrains. Transport costs blow away their meager profits as some transporters charge exorbitant fares.

Tobacco farmers also face accommodation challenges when they come to sell their tobacco in Harare since operations at auction floors are slow, forcing farmers to spend close to a week at the floors waiting for money if at all their tobacco would have been auctioned Sometimes one is forced to seek accommodation at expensive booking houses waiting for their produce to go through the auction floors. Decentralizing the auction floors will effectively address the accommodation and other challenges as some farmers will be close to their homes.

The capital city is infested with thieves and prostitutes who both target the tobacco farmers due to large sums of money they transact and sometimes carry. Year in year out unsuspecting tobacco farmers, both new and seasoned have fallen prey to these experienced predators and have lost their hard earned cash and other valuables worth thousands of dollars. Muggings, bag snatching, carjackings and pick pocketing occur frequently, particularly at the auction floors and in the Central Business District (CBD) Decentralising the auction floors will definitely minimize these risks and will reduce the window of opportunity for all the unscrupulous illegals.

Decentralising auction floors will automatically spread development evenly across the country. The move will definitely boost sales to grocery, hardware furniture and other businesses in the remote areas as farmers will spend their money there after their sales. Big businesses with a stake in the tobacco industry will be duty bound to develop critical infrastructure in these areas, beginning with roads.