Zimbabwe tobacco farmers are enjoying a record crop, despite the ongoing conflict about redistribution of land.

The crop was planted before the current conflict began in March, Kobus Joubert, president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association.

Some farmers may now have a problem harvesting the crop in time, he warned.

Zimbabwe is the world's second largest exporter of tobacco, which forms a crucial part of the country's economy.

'Near perfect'

"Farmers planted 78,000 hectares of tobacco... a lot of farmers have really had a hard time getting this in," Mr Joubert said.

"We have done well. The Zimbabwe tobacco farmer is the best tobacco farmer in the world," Mr Joubert added.

"We had near perfect growing season and this produced a record crop," he said.

But he warned of the continued risk to the tobacco crop and stressed that challenges remained when it came to getting the crop in.

"If morale is low, a lot of farmers will withdraw and not plant tobacco," he added.

He added: "We are looking at a crop [next year] of 70,000 hectares, we are down about 10% in [area]."

Mr Joubert dismissed claims that tobacco farmers had spread scare stories about the threat to the economy.

"I don't know if you can exaggerate with 200 people standing at your gate, telling you to part with your land," he said.

Land seizure

At least five million hectares of commercial farmland have been earmarked for seizure, out of a total of 12 million.

More than 2,000 of the 3,041 farmers affected have already been served notice to quit.

The farms at the centre of the dispute provide the nation's economic backbone.

Agriculture makes up 20% of gross domestic product.

Just 4,500 white farmers own 11 million hectares of agricultural land, mainly huge commercial estates.

About one million blacks own 16 million hectares, often scratching a living in drought-hit areas.

While many white farmers agree that 1% of the population should not own most of the productive land, they believe simply handing it over to people who may not have the money to run it is not the solution.