Great Returns With Tobacco, The Ideal Cash Crop

Tobacco producer, Peter Kok, says that tobacco is a cash crop that can assist diversification and expansion.

- Gerhard Uys

Peter Kok, who produces tobacco on Nyawa Farm near Marble Hall in Limpopo, says that tobacco is an efficient cash crop that has made it possible for him to diversify and expand his permanent crops.

He co-manages the farm with his father, Neels, and bother-in-law, Norman Snygans.

Eight years ago, Peter planted 40ha to tobacco, but has since expanded and now plants 140ha to tobacco. The entire enterprise is run on 700ha, with maize, soya and cotton used as rotational crops in a three-year rotation programme. They also produce citrus.

PLANTING TOBACCO

Before planting, soil samples are sent to Prof Hennie Boshoff in Rustenburg, whom Peter describes as one of South Africa’s last specialists in soil analysis for tobacco planting. After the soil analyses, soils are adjusted with NPK and gypsum.

Planting starts in September and continues into November on lands pre-irrigated by centre pivot systems.

Peter says that a tight planting schedule is essential, and that they do not wait for rain before planting. The number of tobacco ovens, for drying tobacco, determines the planting schedule, as a backlog of leaves waiting to be dried would be unmanageable and lead to quality and yield loss.

Harvesting begins in mid february and ends in April or May. Peter sells more than 90% of his crop to Limpopo Tobacco Processors (LTP), a farmer owned co-op. After delivery to LTP, British American Tobacco (BAT) buys 95% of his crop from LTP. While Peter does not deal directly with BAT, the company does regulate certain aspects of production, and supplies him with a list of consumer friendly pesticides. He begins selling to LTP in January, and sales are made every week, with payments also received weekly. Selling concludes only at the end of June after all the tobacco has been dried.