Tobacco farmers warned against ‘Kudzipepesa’

Tobacco farmers in the country have been warned against being overexcited with money because this has led to many of them contracting the HIV virus.

Auction Holdings corporate affairs manager Alfred Mlenga said this on Saturday at Santhe in kasungu when the organisation had an HIV and Aids awareness open day for tobacco farmers in the district.

Said Mlenga: “It has been a common practice, that tobacco farmers try to appease (kudzipepesa) themselves recklessly after hard work by engaging in drinking and hiring commercial sex workers to entertain them soon after selling their tobacco.

As an organisation that deals with tobacco farmers our main message is ‘avoid contracting the virus after selling their tobacco’.

Mlenga said many tobacco farmers after selling their crop, instead of taking back home money, they take the virus which they regrettably transfer to their innocent wives.

“We believe this is the right time for farmers to actually take their spouses to the Auction Floors to avoid being tempted. After all they work together in the farms up to the time of baling the tobacco,” Mlenga said.

He said it was surprising that wives are left out time of selling the crop and yet they also considerably used their energy to produce quality tobacco.

Guest of honour Senior Traditional Authority Chidzuma said that it has taken ten years before any organisation came to his area with such type of life saving messages.

“Our farmers are contracting the virus and are dying silently and yet there has been no organisation that has come forth with such type of message as AHL has done today. This really shows that AHL is a true farmers’ friend,” said Chadzuma.

The open day was marked with various activities including dances; poetry recitals, drama by Chindime and Samalani and a football match between two local clubs.

Apart from the various activities a mobile VCT centre was open throughout the day where over one hundred farmers had an opportunity to have their blood tested for HIV.

Tobacco is the number one forex earner for the country employing millions of farmers.