Effect of Training on Yield and Quality of Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabaccum): A Comparative Study of Trained and Untrained Farmers in Mazowe District, Zimbabwe

Smallholder commercial agriculture in developing countries is based on cash crops and in Zimbabwe flue-cured tobacco is progressively becoming an important cash crop among smallholder farmers. Therefore, the broad objective of this study was to assess the impact of trained and untrained smallholder farmers on yield and quality of flue-cured tobacco in Mazoe District of Zimbabwe. A total of 48 smallholder farmers were selected from a total population of 480 using purposive sampling, 24 untrained and 24 trained. These farmers were interviewed using structured questionnaires, group discussion and field observation for the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 production season in Mazoe District of Zimbabwe. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results show that trained farmers obtained average yields of 1650 kg per hectare and untrained farmers obtained an average yield of 1075kg per hectare for the period 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. Yields obtained were below the maximum environmental yield potential of 5000 kg/ha. The research recommends that stakeholders in the tobacco industry should capacitate the training of farmers through extension or training institutions to improve training efficiency in tobacco production by smallholder farmers. Adoption of farm modern farm technology in tobacco production is necessary for the farmers to improve yield and quality of tobacco leaf which fetch better prices at auction floors. Keywords: impact, training, tobacco, productivity