A success story for tobacco

ETHICAL Leaf Tobacco’s (ELT) vision of rural empowerment and enhancement of rural livelihoods has enabled it to have a geographic footprint across all tobacco growing regions in Zimbabwe.

Due to this approach, a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, this week heard that the company’s volumes had grown by over 300 percent in less than four years.

ELT general manager Andrew Mupfawa told the committee that the company was passionate about the upliftment of rural livelihoods through sustainable tobacco production hence its prioritisation of input schemes.

“The company has positioned inputs scheme as the scheme of choice for farmers as evidenced by the sharp increase in volume from 6,5 million kgs in the first year to 10 million kgs both in 2018 and 2019 respectively,” he said.

At its inception in 2016 the company launched an input scheme which has grown from 3 000 growers to the current 12 600 farmers.

“The company funded inputs worth US$6 million in the 2018/19 season and has mobilised US$30 million for inputs support during the 2019/20 farming season,” Mupfawa said.

He said ELT whose main operation involves contracting growers, providing agronomy service and crops mobilisation for purchase by the off taker has a tenancy and service level agreement with Tobacco Sales Floor.

According to market analysts and farmers, ETL’s strength has over the year been in the (PRS approach), Price, Respect and Service.

The company offers unparralled service excellence to its farmers through instant offloading and buying of their crop as well as timely payments to farmers.

The company boasts of the best customer care team that is trained on a regular basis to maintain the level of excellence that it is now know for.

ELT leads in paying competitive prices per each grade. This they said is made possible through ongoing grading training sessions that we carry out in all regions.

Many farmers were not grading their tobacco correctly and were mixing it. This will inevitably lower the price.

The company provides regular agronomic, service and market updates via our sms platform and radio programs.

The company has a team of seasoned agricultural experts at its helm who have been steering it in the right direction and realize the success of agrarian reform in Zimbabwe.