{"id":36385,"date":"2021-03-11T20:10:36","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T18:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/tobacco-farmers-group-praises-govt-increasing-forex-retention"},"modified":"2021-03-11T20:10:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T18:10:15","slug":"tobacco-farmers-group-praises-govt-increasing-forex-retention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/tobacco-farmers-group-praises-govt-increasing-forex-retention","title":{"rendered":"Tobacco Farmers\u2019 Group Praises Govt Increasing Forex Retention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Zimbabwe<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>By Staff Reporter<\/b> – THE Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (ToFUZ) has hailed authorities for agreeing to increase the foreign currency retention cap from 50% to 60 % ahead of the 2021 tobacco selling season.<\/p>\n

Also among the measures introduced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Agriculture ministry, there shall be no compulsory liquidation of forex retained.<\/p>\n

Farmers are free to purchase and\/or supplement their foreign exchange requirements from the auction system.<\/p>\n

In a statement, ToFUZ said while they would have wished for 70% foreign currency retention, 60% was not bad for the farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough we would have wanted 70% forex retention for farmers, we applaud the RBZ and the Ministry of Agriculture for the policy review which is set to benefit farmers,\u201d said the tobacco farmers\u2019 group.<\/p>\n

However, ToFUZ urged government, through central bank to \u201cunveil low interest loans for tobacco farmers especially women and youths who are finding it difficult to fund their projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will certainly see an increase in tobacco production as farmers will increase hectare capacity,\u201d said the group in the statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur concern as a union is to see totally empowered tobacco farmers who can independently make decisions without conditions as the case with contract farming.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that tobacco is the country\u2019s largest single foreign currency earner after gold and it contributes much to our economic growth as a nation, tobacco farming should be promoted through supportive input loan facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ FULL STATEMENT BELOW:<\/b><\/p>\n

News release: Upcoming 2021 Tobacco Marketing Season<\/p>\n

Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (ToFUZ) wishes all tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe a swift and progressive 2021 tobacco selling season.<\/p>\n

As tobacco farmers, we faced numerous challenges last season that consequently resulted in a decrease in the number of farmers who registered to grow the crop for the 2020\/21 season. On several platforms, we have urged the authorities to initiate flexible input schemes for tobacco farmers\u2019 not willing to join the contract system.<\/p>\n

The Government should also through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) unveil low interest loans for tobacco farmers especially women and youths who are finding it difficult to fund their projects. This will certainly see an increase in tobacco production as farmers will increase hectare capacity.<\/p>\n

Our concern as a union is to see totally empowered tobacco farmers who can independently make decisions without conditions as the case with contract farming.<\/p>\n

Given that tobacco is the country\u2019s largest single foreign currency earner after gold and it contributes much to our economic growth as a nation, tobacco farming should be promoted through supportive input loan facilities.<\/p>\n

Due to challenges faced last season some farmers carried over bills from last season, forcing most farmers to join contract farming schemes for this season.<\/p>\n

ToFUZ has raised concerns to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) and further engaged the central bank. Due to the productive engagement with the RBZ, the following policy review was enacted for the upcoming marketing season.<\/p>\n

1.) The foreign currency retention was increased from 50% to 60 %<\/p>\n

2.) No compulsory liquidation of forex retained<\/p>\n

Though we would have wanted 70% forex retention for farmers, we applaud the RBZ and the Ministry of Agriculture for the policy review which is set to benefit farmers.<\/p>\n

We also urge farmers to take use of the auction system if need be as the doors are widely open for tobacco farmers to purchase and\/or supplement their foreign exchange requirements from the auction system.<\/p>\n

We also take this opportunity to urge all farmers in all parts of Zimbabwe to stay safe, Covid-19 is real. Let\u2019s always mask up , observe social distancing and adhere to all safety regulations during this 2021 tobacco selling season.<\/p>\n

Once again we wish you all a peaceful, swift, progressive and profitable 2021 tobacco selling season.<\/p>\n

Information Department<\/p>\n

Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe<\/p>\n

The tobacco farmers voice<\/p>\n

tobaccofamersunionzim@gmail.com<\/p>\n

0785964343 \/ 0718137168<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Staff Reporter – THE Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (ToFUZ) has hailed authorities for agreeing to increase the foreign currency retention cap from 50% to 60 % ahead of the 2021 tobacco selling season. Also among the measures introduced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Agriculture ministry, there shall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":36384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,35,15],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":["post-36385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nTobacco Farmers\u2019 Group Praises Govt Increasing Forex Retention - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Staff Reporter - THE Tobacco Farmers Union of Zimbabwe (ToFUZ) has hailed authorities for agreeing to increase ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/tobacco-farmers-group-praises-govt-increasing-forex-retention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tobacco Farmers\u2019 Group Praises Govt Increasing Forex Retention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Staff Reporter - 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