Farmer registration fall not reflected in area planted

The number of farmers who registered to grow tobacco during Zimbabwe’s 2015-16 season declined by 20 percent year-on-year to 70,412, according to a story in the Herald citing figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board.

At the same time, the area planted to tobacco is said to have dropped by four percent to 89,559 ha; so it seems that a number of farmers are growing the size of their tobacco plots.

The TIMB said also that 9,025 new farmers registered for the 2015-16 season, which is 45 percent down on the number of new farmers who registered to grow tobacco during the previous season.