Tobacco.org

Payment Delays Haunt Tobacco Farmers 

BUREAUCRATIC bungling in the payment system has caused a number of farmers to spend days camped at the tobacco auction floors, after selling their produce.

The delays are so far said to be Inexplicable, with farmers waiting for two days on the floors to get paid. A verification process is reported to be the major cause of the delays.

A number of tobacco growers failed to register before delivering their crop to the floors because they could not afford the US$10 required. They are paying the fee through a bureaucratic stop-order system.

Another problem is that there have been two groups of buyers in rotation at the three auction floors. They are alleged to arrive at some floors late, thus slowing down the start of the sales, which leads to the subsequent payment delays.

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