Tobacco production management systems for sustainability of small-scale farmers in Goromonzi

Abstract

The tobacco leaf represents 10% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and 70% to 80% of the tobacco production in the country is from smallholder farmers – farmers with commonly less than 2 hectares of land for tobacco. Despite the significant role of smallholder tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe, they encounter numerous challenges that include high production costs, low market prices, high debts, and environmental impacts, among others. The challenges of the tobacco farmers cut across the entire production chain. The current study therefore sought to develop a production information management system that may help smallholder tobacco farmers improve their production stamina and reduce operational challenges. In an effort to address this agenda, the study adopted a mixed method under the post-positivism philosophical stance. Using disproportionate stratified sampling, 265 questionnaires were distributed to 231 farmers and 34 TIMB staff. Furthermore, 10 interviews with relevant farmers and 5 with TIMB staff were held to gain insights into the production system being used by farmers in Goromonzi. A response rate of 56.2% for surveys and 73.3% participation for interviews were recorded. The data were analysed using SPSS version 24, while the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The results showed that current tobacco farming practices among the smallholder farmers in Goromonzi are not sustainable and are not providing a viable business entity for the households. The methods are manual and highly controlled under the contract farming government policy position. The farmers encounter structural, personal, and technology-related bottlenecks such as lack of market information, limited power to negotiate inputs and prices, and also increasingly harsh economic and weather conditions. Adoption of any technology might be constrained by these factors. It was proposed that external forces and government position might need to intervene to regulate the promotion of adoption of a technology-driven production system dependent on viable economic conditions, a competent farming community, and a positive cultural base. This is likely to produce measurable sustainability and viability of the tobacco farming system in Goromonzi. The farming system cannot be isolated from growing global health concerns, carbon emissions, and child labour laws. Despite these discoveries, the study could not widely validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework. Further research in this regard might be pertinent.