They soldier on despite unreliable rainfall and alack of inputs? continuing to hope for a brighter future. But the grimreality of their daily plight is clearly visible for everyone to see.
As one enters Harare from Beatrice it's impossiblenot to notice the sheer number of people milling around the giant Zitec auctionfloors, popularly known as the Boka Tobacco Auction Floors.
This giant building with its red brick walls andblue metal roof was conceived by the late Roger Boka, who dreamt of buildingthe biggest African auction floor in the world. Indigenousfarmers say it's ironic they are getting so little from a structure thatpromised so much.
Two mobile toilets at the auction floor are in aterrible state, prompting farmers to use the nearby bush, which isenveloped in a terrible stench.
Thirty-six-year-old Joyce Wutawunashe explains shecultivates the golden leaf with her husband at Buta farm, near Marondera. Themother of three says she's been at the auction floors for more than a week,waiting for her payment to be processed. Joyce says she has no more moneyto spend. As the current withdrawal limit is 100 billion [Zimbabwe] dollarsdaily, Joyce says she's a sitting duck:
"We left children in the rural areas who arestarving. We don't have any money. The money we are getting from thebank is too little, it doesn't mean anything. The children we leftneed our attention. They need food, they need to go to school so ifthe bank could give us a little more money as a withdrawal, it would help us alot because we are starving here. We are staying in the cold for manynights."
There are no showers at the facility. 49-year old Michael Mhofu from Madziwacomplains he's been here a week without taking a bath. He says he's spentall his money and has nothing left, so he can't visit his ailing mother, "Weare being forced to go to ordinary shops to go and cash our cheques. So Idon't believe we will have enough money to buy inputs."
The farmers spend the greater part of the nightsitting around small fires. Some share the few blankets they have whilesleeping in the open. Then they wash their clothes in the nearby Mukuvisi riverand hang them on a boundary fence to dry.
The story is the same at the Tobacco Sales Floor,situated in the Willowvale Industrial area. It's an empty space supportedby robust metal poles, covered with an iron roof. It's since been turnedinto a temporary shelter for many new tobacco farmers, who spent at least aweek waiting for their payments.