Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) says the slowdown in farmer registration for next season is solely due to the new biometric registration process, and there is “nothing to worry about.”
The TIMB has integrated biometric technology into its registration system, collecting fingerprints from growers and linking them to a unique grower number, alongside GPS co-ordinates of their farms and households.
It is designed to make it impossible for a farmer to be contracted by more than one tobacco merchant, thereby curbing side-marketing.
The adoption of biometric registration directly addresses long-standing abuses prevalent under the previous non-biometric system. In past seasons, it was common practice for non-farmers to register simply to acquire a grower’s number.
Latest figures from the TIMB reveal the number of registered tobacco farmers has declined by 29 percent to 117 558, with notable drops observed in major tobacco – growing regions such as Mashonaland East and Central.
“The slowdown is attributable to the biometric registration we are rolling out, and there is really nothing to worry about,” said TIMB chief executive Mr Emmanul Matsvaire in an interview.
