TBZ targets 80m kg of tobacco by 2028
- Farmer Segy Siadunka made about K350,000 from 5 hectares
- TBZ working towards improving cultivation techniques and fostering collaboration
- Government says committed to providing quality extension services.
THE Tobacco Board of Zambia (TBZ) has targeted to produce 80 million kilograms of tobacco by the year 2028.
Central region manager Willis Ngonga announced the target during a tobacco field day held in the Mukonchi area of Kapiri Mposhi District in Central Province.
Ngonga said that TBZ was working towards improving cultivation techniques and fostering collaboration that will bring higher yields and better quality of tobacco.
He said agriculture was the backbone of the Zambian economy, and tobacco farming played a vital role in rural development.
“Sustainable farming is key to ensuring the long-term viability of the tobacco industry while protecting the environment,” Ngonga said.
He said sustainable tobacco production required farmers to embrace sustainable farming methods, use their right seeds and implement best agricultural practices.
Kapiri Mposhi acting district agricultural coordinator Rebecca Kapembwa said government was committed to providing quality extension services to produce high-grade tobacco.
This would help attract investment in the tobacco value chain.
Kapembwa said tobacco production was creating jobs for many rural and urban based Zambians.
She urged farmers venturing into tobacco production to be sensitive to the environment.
Elety Siachoobe, a Kapiri Mposhi tobacco farmer, said she was making good money from her tobacco sales.
Siachoobe said tobacco farming was good because even during drought she was able to harvest and had at least a good profit as opposed to those that only grew maize.
She, however, bemoaned the exchange rate inconsistencies as tobacco was sold in dollars.
And the field day host farmer, Segy Siadunka, said he is doing well in tobacco farming.
Siadunka shared that out of five hectares of tobacco field, he made about K350,000 as a profit.
He said he had amassed wealth from tobacco production and urged other farmers to consider trying it out. -NAIS
