Tobacco grower base expands

Tobacco grower base expands
Published: 07 April 2014
The tobacco grower base is expected to go beyond 100 000 farmers with the communal sector dominating the industry.

Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chief executive Andrew Matibiri said the number of growers has continued to grow each season.

"We are expecting the grower base to reach above 105 000 growers this season.

"So far the tobacco grower base has reached 99 174 growers. Farmers are still registering and indications are that they will exceed 105 000," he said.

Matibiri said the increase in the number of tobacco growers was not going to compromise prices.

He said prices were pegged according to the grade of the crop and it was important that the new farmers grasp important techniques in tobacco production. "The future of tobacco is bright. The increasing cigarette production in China means there will always be a high demand for the crop and it will remain viable," he said.

Matibiri said so far 99 174 farmers have registered for tobacco this season compared to the 82 833 who had registered during the same period last year.

Of the registered growers, communal farmers constitute 46 percent of the grower base with 45 134 farmers having registered. About 17 930 communal farmers have registered to grow the crop for the first time.

TIMB in conjunction with the Farmers Development Trust are training farmers in tobacco production to enable them to produce a product suitable for the export market.

The board is also promoting energy saving barns that are cheap and require less firewood for curing to reduce the rate of deforestation that has been caused by the increase in tobacco production.

Some of the farmers still lack knowledge and proper infrastructure for handling the crop.
- BH24
Tags: Tobacco,

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