Some tobacco farmers in Mgubudu area have observed that government needs to get more involved if farmers are to fully benefit from growing the crop.
Harriet Nyirongo and Maurice Mwale, have observed that government is less involved in tobacco compared to other crops such as maize, especially during the marketing season.
They note that in neighbouring countries such as Malawi, Agriculture Ministers directly oversee the marketing process of cash crops that give farmers a lot of money.
They also noted that most often, companies come up with very attractive price lists, yet they buy the crop at lower prices from farmers.
The farmers also noted that the continuous buying of the crop in dollar, leaves very little chances for farmers to negotiate.
They observed that a number of farmers find it difficult to properly calculate to negotiate with buyers, especially now that the dollar-Kwacha exchange rate is not very stable.
A check by Breeze News at Mgubudu floors on Thursday, found only JTI has started buying the crop since the marketing season opened last Thursday.