HARARE — As a new marketing season dawned, Tendai Chimhondoro waited patiently for her golden leaf crop to go under the hammer in Zimbabwe's capital Harare.

The small-scale farmer from Shamva, Mashonaland Central Province, has been selling tobacco on the auction floors since she started growing the cash crop three years ago.

"I am expecting the leaf to fetch a higher price at the auction because the quality of my leaf this year is high compared to last year's," said Chimhondoro, 45.

The tobacco auction season opened on March 5 and is expected to run until the third quarter of the year. Chimhondoro said that while tobacco is not a food crop, it generates more income to put food on the table than staple crops.

"Since I started bringing my tobacco to the auction floor, my life has changed. I am now at another level, and my earnings have greatly improved," she said.

Although most tobacco sales occur through contracts, auction floors provide a ready market for many small-scale farmers to sell their produce.

In Zimbabwe, tobacco is known as the "golden leaf" because of its distinctive color and significant contribution to the economy — providing livelihood for many households.

Primarily exported to China, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, among other destinations, it has become one of the leading foreign currency earners for Zimbabwe.

According to the country's Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, tobacco farmers have expanded planting area to 125,000 hectares this season, up from 113,000 hectares last year. Driven by favorable rainfall, the output is projected to rise from 240 million kilograms last year to 280 million kg this year.

Lloyd Titi, a farmer from Shamva, said he preferred tobacco to food crops for its drought tolerance, especially as climate change has made rainfall patterns increasingly erratic.

"Maize has water thirst, but tobacco is short seasoned, so it's more dependable," he said.

George Seremwe, president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association, expressed optimism about a rebound in the tobacco sector this year. "As we went into January and up to date, the rains are good and reaping is ongoing," he said. "The marketing season is promising to be good."

Xinhua