February 3, 2022. So far, more than 121,000 tobacco growers, most of them public farmers, have registered for the 20201/22 season, according to the Herald.
The number of registered farmers is down 19% from the 144,529 growers registered last season. This season, out of more than 121,000 registered farmers, 66,868 are commune farmers. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), there are 41,487 A1 farmers, 6,911 A2 farmers and 6,544 farmers from the small-scale sector.
The number of first-time farmers dropped from 1,716 last year to 580 this year, a 196 percent drop, the Herald reported.
The decline is believed to be due to TIMB's tightened grower vetting process and industry challenges that discourage farmers from continuing to plant crops.
"There are too many cartels in a pie in the industry. Last season, the agency changed the farmers for a short time. From last season until now, we cannot let the farmers not pay, "said Mr. George Serenwe, President of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association, referring to the matter.