Tobacco farmers growing in Zimbabwe

At least 86,751 farmers in Zimbabwe have registered to grow tobacco during the 2014-15 season, up from 83,668 who had applied by the corresponding period in 2013, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board says.

At least 40,359 of the farmers who want to grow the crop are communal-based, translating to 46 percent of the growers who have registered while small-scale commercial farmers account for the least number at 6,825, representing just 8 percent of the total, with 510 of them having registered for the first time.

Growers registering for the first time numbered 16,067 compared with 25,728 who registered in the corresponding period last year. Communal farmers constitute 9,886 of the total number of new tobacco growers for 2014-15 season.

During the 2013 marketing season, a total of 106,455 farmers sold tobacco at the auction floors. Production of the golden leaf in Zimbabwe surged at the turn of the millennium with farmers in communal areas catching up to growing the crop.

At least 217 million kilogrammes of tobacco were produced in 2013, raking in $700 million, the most in 14 years as the rebound in output continued, driven by small-scale farmers, good rains, organized marketing and experience that producers have acquired to date. The last time output surpassed 210 million kg was in 2000 when it reached 227.7 million kg.