Use alternative energy sources to cure tobacco

Lazarus Sauti

Tawanda Magwegwe, 38, from Chiteeri village in Buhera North is a tobacco farmer.

He opted for tobacco as his crop of choice some years ago because it is lucrative to grow tobacco over maize and cotton.

“Tobacco is now my crop of choice. Though labour intensive, as every step of growing tobacco needs attention to detail, the crop is lucrative as compared to maize and cotton,” said Magwegwe

Further, he uses wood to cure his tobacco.

Though aware of the massive destruction he is causing, Magwegwe insists firewood is the only viable option he has.

“Tobacco is highly energy-intensive and requires a lot of wood to cure it – circulating hot air around the crop for seven days. Though the heat could be provided by coal, I do not have sufficient resources to buy coal,” he said, adding that firewood is the only cheap option.

Magwegwe is spot on as coal is relatively expensive and coal-fired barns need electricity, which the country in chronically short of, to circulate the heat.

So firewood is the easy alternative to coal, not only to Magwegwe, but to other small holder tobacco farmers.

Because of Magwegwe as well as other small-holder tobacco farmers who use firewood to cure the golden leaf, most rural areas in Zimbabwe are battling destruction of forests, a fact supported by science writer Ray Mwareya who added that “deforestation caused by tobacco farmers has laid land bare and arid, bringing flash floods, erosion, desertification and mass displacement of wildlife.”

Further, the Zimbabwe Forest Commission, the country’s watchdog, says 15 percent of Zimbabwe’s natural forest has been burn down as farmers free more land to plant tobacco.

On current trends, adds the Forest Commission, the country will be a desert in just 35 years from now.

“The national rate of deforestation currently stands at more than 300 000 hectares per annum of which 15 percent is attributable to tobacco production activities,” moans the Forest Commission.

Although the increase in the number of tobacco farmers has been welcomed as positive growth of the agriculture sector and the economy at large, it is threatening to turn the country into a desert, as highlighted by the Forest Commission.

To rectify this problem, Pattison Mbiriri, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, says tobacco farmers should consider using alternative energy sources for their operations.

“Zimbabwe is battling destruction of forests by tobacco farmers who use wood for their operations.

“To protect our forests – future engines of sustainable development, these farmers should consider using alternative energy sources for their operations,” he said, adding that “biogas and biomass are some of the cheapest forms of energy that they could exploit.”

He added that trials are underway to establish the possibility of curing the golden leaf using energy derived from ethanol.

“Government is encouraged by research which is underway to establish the extent to which ethanol can be used to cure tobacco,” said Mbiriri. “However, ethanol is currently in limited supply, but nonetheless we can very quickly and very easily grow more sugarcane and end up with more ethanol.”

Presenting the 2015 National Budget, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, also called on tobacco farmers to consider using environmental friendly methods of curing tobacco, as the country projects 222 million kilograms (kgs).

He said the increase in tobacco production should not result in an increase in environmental degradation.

“…As we increase tobacco production, it is equally important that our farmers embrace environmental friendly methods of curing tobacco, desisting from practices that perpetuate deforestation and environmental degradation.

“In this regard, the government will be working closely with the tobacco industry to embrace access to alternative energy sources, as well as development of woodlots around tobacco producing areas,” said Chinamasa.

Climate Smart Trust chairman and former tobacco farmer, Didymus Machiri, adds his voice: “The link between deforestation and tobacco growing is almost impossible to break.

“It is the duty of every farmer to play a role of conserving the environment, making money in the process.

“Apart from our vision of having a hundred million trees by 2016, farmers should seriously consider alternative energy sources in tobacco curing,” he said.

Machiri added that alternative fuels and more efficient curing barn designs help deliver real benefits to growers as well as the environment.

Guy Mutasa, the president of the Tobacco National Farmers Union, argues that to produce better quality tobacco that will compete on the world market, the country must introduce biogas as well as solar tobacco curing barns.

Advocate Martin Dinha, the Provincial Affairs Minister for Mashonaland Central, however, urges the government to introduce a policy that bans the use of firewood to cure tobacco.

“The cost of destruction of trees is alarming. Therefore, there is a need for a policy directive to prohibit all tobacco farmers from using firewood when curing their tobacco,” he said.

To try and help reduce environmental degradation and deforestation, Steady Kangata of the Environmental Management Agency (Ema), says his organisation has launched numerous campaigns to educate people like Magwegwe as well as other small holder tobacco farmers on sustainable methods available.

Some of the measures, he adds, include encouraging tobacco farmers to use alternative energy sources to cure their tobacco over and above developing woodlots in their areas.

Mwareya concurs: “Trees maintain the ecological balance without which Zimbabwe will emerge into a new Sahara with devastating impacts.

“Accordingly, small holder tobacco farmers must be encouraged to grow fast-growing eucalyptus on their own land to provide the wood and save trees.

“By saving trees, tobacco farmers like Magwegwe and other small holder farmers as well as tobacco stakeholders should know they are actually saving themselves.”