Happiness must be ephemeral; a visitor who stays no longer than a day or two. Or so I think.
I mean, gauging by what people were saying on the first day of the tobacco marketing season, this year was supposed to be a game-changer. Sure enough, the about-turn point.
I could not fault them.
After all, when President Lazarus Chakwera opened the tobacco market for this year, every farmer who sold tobacco on that day could not believe it; despite that what was on sale was lower leaf, which is basically the low-quality type, prices were satisfactory.
Such was the extent that some of the farmers that are known for crying out loud sang praises of tobacco-buying companies, lauding them as the visitor who comes with pockets full of goodies— call them gifts.
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At that point, farmers who usually send their tobacco to the market late started regretting their act. They wished they were among the early birds, too.
Well, such is life; it is unpredictable.
Not that I have issues with tobacco-buying companies. They have been fair, so far. They have been fair, if not good, in the sense that they have been buying Malawi’s green gold at fair prices, such that, so far, farmers have not started crying foul over prices.
May the good days— and nights— continue.
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But, then, there is one problem that has remained. That [problem] pertains to late payment to farmers— those who toil in the scorching sun— who have sold their tobacco in anticipation that they will finally get the money they have been craving and start the process of buying inputs for next season before the unpredictable Kwacha tumbles again.
As you know, the Kwacha is not a housemaid one may count on. In bad times, the housemaid deserts you, leaving one wondering as to what has hit them.
However, farmers who have sold their tobacco to buyers cannot do that [invest in next season’s inputs] now because someone, somewhere, is holding on to their money.
As I am speaking, some farmers are crying foul over delays by the authorities to pay them dues after selling their crop.
One of the farmers, who sold 70 bales of tobacco at Chinkhoma Auction Floors in Kasungu, indicated that “many” farmers are saddened to note that the authorities are silent on the issue of payment. “Since selling our tobacco at Chinkhoma on the first day, we have not received our dues. We have tried to query the authorities, to no avail, but we were assured that the dues would be paid within 24 hours after sales,” one farmer is quoted as saying in The Daily Times.
The farmer went a step further; lamenting the delays, saying the situation has affected lives [his life and lives of other family members who look up to him for basic needs].
It is as if after waxing lyrical about “good” tobacco prices, farmers have fallen on the bad times they are accustomed to [in seasons like this] again.
This, Dear Pain, is the price one pays for banking too much on people who are never in a hurry when doing things; people who love to do the opposite of what people expect them to do.
Yes, the Tobacco Commission has weighed in on the issue, saying it is engaging stakeholders to address the problem. Its position is thus: “Yes, payments to farmers have been delayed in some cases. We are engaging relevant stakeholders to identify the source of the challenge and to explore solutions. We assure farmers that this will be resolved quickly.”
The truth of the matter is that farmers are supposed to get their dues not later than two days after sales.
And, Dear Pain, that simple thing has not happened.
