100 000 tobacco growers register Tobacco farm

Elita Chikwati Senior Agriculture Reporter
Tobacco growers registrations have hit the 100 000 mark, with communal farmers constituting the highest number of growers, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has revealed.

According to latest statistics from the TIMB, 100 723 farmers had registered for tobacco by December 6. This is an increase of 37 percent from the 73 658 who had registered during the same period last year.

A total of 50 028 communal farmers have so far registered with the TIMB, compared to 38 327 A1 farmers that had registered by December 6 last year. Mashonaland Central continues to top the list of tobacco growers, with 37 631 farmers from the province having registered by December 6.

Mashonaland West is in second position with 33 684 growers having registered. Manicaland has 15 195 registered farmers, and Midlands 308. Masvingo has 108, while Matabeleland has two registered farmers.

According to farmers’ organisations, there are few challenges in the tobacco sector, as most farmers did not have problems accessing inputs. The bulk of tobacco growers produce the crop under contract farming arrangements.

Contractors supply farmers with inputs such as fertilisers, chemicals and sometimes pay for labour. Most farmers have opened up to produce tobacco under contract farming, as the buyers offer higher prices than those at the auction floors.

This has affected operations at auction floors and Government had to intervene with a $28 million facility to assist small scale farmers who do not have access to funding, and also to keep auction floors from collapsing.

Tobacco production has been on the increase due to a favourable marketing environment. Zimbabwe, the world’s fourth largest tobacco producer, has a dual marketing system where the produce is sold through auction and contract systems.

Some industry players said the gradual decline of the auction system could cause price manipulation in favour of the contractors, which would drive farmers away from growing the tobacco.

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