Ethical leaf tobacco setting pace in farmer’s health issues

LEADING tobacco contracting expert, Ethical Leaf Tobacco has adopted a paradigm shift by addressing farmers’ social and health issues in an unprecedented plough back initiative to all tobacco growing regions.

In what could be a potential game changer in the tobacco contracting industry, ELT has donated an assortment of PPE’s at Dowa Clinic, Makoni West, Namie Clinic, Headlands, Tengwe Clinic, Hurungwe and Glamorgan clinic in Bindura South constituency, as part of its efforts to compliment government efforts in combating the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring a healthy tobacco farming community.

The gesture by ELT is novel in the tobacco contracting industry and more initiatives are in the pipeline as it sets itself apart and as it ensures that it operates in healthy communities.

‘We have embraced persuasive measures such as risk sharing strategies by addressing issues that affect our farmers at farmgate level. This is premised on our number one value ‘Rukudzo Kumurimi’ which connotes to our commitment to giving the farmer an excellent service, from the moment they are contracted to ELT to the very last time that they visit our tobacco sales floors.’

ELT is also committed to giving the farmer the best price as its prices are more than competitive on the market, evidenced by the number of growers that are contracted to the company. In a recent document released by TIMB, ELT has the highest number of tobacco growers among the third party suppliers.

Farmers who are contracted to ELT value the price as well as the input support that ELT gives them. It is ELT’s commitment to offering the best price that has made its scheme very popular with the smallholder tobacco farmers.

This coming marketing season ELT will be operating three sales floors, in Marondera, Karoi and Harare., a move that is meant to give more convenience to the farmer.