Tobacco Board of Zambia TBZ has not yet started buying tobacco from independent farmers in Eastern Province.
Eastern Fodya Association of Zambia EFAZ Chairperson Franklyn Mwale confirmed this to Breeze News.
He says that the buying exercise has not started because EFAZ is still doing an assessment to establish how much tobacco is remaining with the farmers.
Mr. Mwale says that once the counting of the bells of tobacco is completed, the buying process will commence.
He says that farmers should not worry because government assured them that it will buy their produce.
Mr. Mwale, who could not disclose the number of bells counted so far, says government did not mention the buying price for the crop.
He however, urged farmers to grow the crop as per demand on the market in order to avoid similar challenges.