Grower registrations up

The number of farmers in Zimbabwe who have registered to grow flue-cured tobacco during the 2017/18 season has increased by more than 36 percent on the number who registered for the previous season, according to a story in The Herald.

More than 100,000 farmers have registered to grow tobacco during the 2017/18 farming season, up from 73,492 in the previous season.

And registrations are still in progress.

This sharp increase has occurred even though farmer flue-cured prices fell by almost 20 percent between 2013 and 2016, from US$3.67 per kg to US$2.95 per kg.

Figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) show that 25,852 farmers have registered to grow tobacco for the first time during the 2017/18 season, which compares with the 13,842 farmers who registered the previous season to grow tobacco for the first time.