Farmers who delivered their tobacco ahead of the season opening ceremony at Boka Auction Floors on Wednesday were left doubting the efficiency of the much hyped e-marketing system after it failed to work, periodically malfunctioning and delaying the marketing process much to the disappointment of farmers who were quick to call for a return to the traditional manual method.
The new marketing, introduced by Tobacco Industry Marketing Board to stop possible price collusion and the practice of sharing by buyers, leading to better prices for growers could only work once and on the second try, it reflected a buying price of 0.20 cents much to the dismay of farmers who could be seen registering their discomfort, calling for a return to the traditional manual way of buying tobacco.
However, the e-auction system malfunctioned in the early stages of the selling season forcing buyers to resort to the traditional system to facilitate the smooth flow of trade as tobacco farmers were becoming anxious and suspicious of the new electronic system.
Farmers who spoke to 263Chat during the auctioning of the first batch of the golden leaf said they were not properly told on how the system works thereby raising fears that they risked being extorted.
Zimbabwe is one of the top good tobacco producers in the world
“We are not sure how the system is working. We do not have any knowledge of the electronic system because we were not fully consulted on how it operates. As a farmer, I need to know how my produce is being sold, but as it stands, I’m in the dark,” said one farmer, Tinashe Gombakomba.
Another farmer, Eunice Chandisaita said although the opening price of $6,00 per kilogram was fair, there was need for the farmers to be told how the system was grading and pricing their tobacco.
“I have been here since early morning and I was hoping that by now I would be on my way home, but this new system is delaying progress as of now I’m yet to see how the machine is working. I think this machine will make us lose our money because I’m hearing its misbehaving. I don’t know how they are going to fix it,” said the worried farmer.
TIMB spokesperson Isheunesu Moyo said the system was functioning well at the other registered auction floors Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) and Premier Tobacco and they were rectifying the ones that were misbehaving.
This year’s opening bidding price was pegged at $6.00/kg.
The highest selling price as of mid-morning was $4.60/kg while the lowest was at $3.60.
Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Joseph Made who officiated at the official opening of the selling season, said he expected the prices to go higher.
“The units are not linking between TIMB and the buyers so we had to revert to the manual system and the highest bale so far fetched $4.60 per kg and considering that this is still lower quality leaf it is a very good start for the farmers,” Minister of Agriculture Joseph Made told journalists at the auction.
Last year sales opened at $3.50 per kilogramme but prices quickly sunk to 20 cents per kg, leading to farmers protesting and calling the prices exploitative.
