Tobacco growers query 'unfair' regulations

Published: 03 July 2014

The strict regulations imposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) against the tobacco industry have caused an outcry for fairness and consideration by the international tobacco community.

A meeting of the International Tobacco Growers' Association (ITGA) this morning saw tobacco industry players banding together to advocate for fair regulations towards their crop.

ITGA president Francois van der Merwe said it is unfair that the tobacco communities have not been involved in the forming of the regulations that will dictate their industry.

"It is a pity that we are discussing here what's going to happen at the Conference of the Parties (COP) later this year and we have to speculate, we do not know what's going on yet the guidelines are going to be about growers.

"They want to regulate growers out of tobacco and we say no, that's not going to happen and if you do make such proposals you need to consult with us and involve us in the discussions and policy development," said van der Merwe.

He said WHO should make an effort to engage the industry that they are willing to regulate as they will affect the livelihood of the people.

"The message to the World Health Organisation is if you want to regulate the sector you better start talking to the sector because we will not allow and stand back to have you make decisions from Geneva which will impact on farmers in rural areas who provide a livelihood for their growers."

Also speaking at the event, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Ringson Chitsiko said Zimbabwe was significantly dependent on the tobacco sector.

"The economic and social importance of tobacco to Zimbabwe, like in Malawi, is immense in the form of engaging over 100 000 farmers each with dependent family members of 10, employing over 300 000 workers directly, generating over $650 million in green leaf sales, creating employment for another 1,5 million indirectly and value addition of close to $1,2 billion to key export markets," he said.

Last year, Zimbabwe's production increased from 144,5 to 167 million kilogrammes, earning $612 million in grower earnings and $1 billion in export earnings.

The crop accounted for 11 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), constituting 61 percent of all agricultural exports.
- BH24

Tags: Tobacco,