Plantings up in Zimbabwe

At least 55,885 ha of land had been put under tobacco in Zimbabwe as at the end of last week, according to a story in The Herald quoting the industry regulator, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).

This season’s planting are up by more than 11 percent on those recorded at the comparable stage of the previous season, 50,151 ha.

Of the 55,885 ha planted this season, at least 41,487 ha comprised the dry land crop and the remainder the irrigated crop.

At the same time, the TIMB said that at least 80,173 farmers had registered to grow tobacco during the 2016/17 season, an increase of almost 15 percent on the 69,803 that had registered by the same stage of last season.

Of the registered growers, 38,153 are said to be communal farmers.

The Herald said that many farmers had been abandoning other cash crops for tobacco because of the favorable prices for tobacco.