Online Reporter
Patience Maturure, Agriculture Reporter
MORE than 113 000 farmers have been biometrically registered since the programme started earlier this year, as part of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB)’s efforts to enhance transparency and security in the industry.
The biometric registration ensures comprehensive profiling of farmers in Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry, providing protection from exploitation and guaranteeing that only genuine farmers participate in the market.
TIMB public affairs officer, Mrs Chelesani Moyo Tsarwe, said the capture of biometric data would effectively eliminate fraudulent activities, curb side marketing and promote transparency and efficiency in the tobacco sector.
“To date, 113 025 farmers have been registered. TIMB has rolled out a biometric grower management system to address the longstanding challenges within Zimbabwe’s tobacco sector.
“The new system introduces biometric data capture, linking each farmer’s unique grower number to their fingerprints, GPS co-ordinates of their household and farm and demographic data,” she said.
Mrs Tsarwe said that not all tobacco growers had undergone fingerprint capture.
“The innovative solution marks a significant step forward for Zimbabwe’s tobacco sector, empowering farmers and fostering a more secure and reliable market,” she said.
Meanwhile, as of 3 October 2025, a total of 68 946 farmers had been registered for the forthcoming summer cropping season through the usual registration process, according to the TIMB’s latest statistics.
Mashonaland Central leads the registrations with 24 081 growers, made up of 13 537 communal farmers, 8 316 A1 farmers, 1 088 small-scale commercial farmers and 1 140 A2 farmers.
In second place is Mashonaland West, which has a total of 21 295 registered growers; 13 271 communal farmers, 5 784 A1 farmers, 909 small-scale commercial farmers and 1 367 A2 farmers.
Manicaland is in third position with a total of 12 014 registered growers made up of 5 507 communal farmers, 5 061 A1 growers, 855 small-scale commercial farmers and 59 A2 growers.
A total of 11 356 growers have registered in Mashonaland East, comprising 4 067 communal farmers, 5 011 A1 growers, 861 small-scale commercial farmers and 1 417 A2 growers.
A total of 118 growers in the Midlands have been registered, split as 94 communal growers, 18 A1 growers, three small-scale commercial farmers and three A2 growers, while 77 growers have been registered in Masvingo.
Of these, 37 are communal farmers, 28 A1 growers, eight small-scale commercial growers and four A2 growers.
Matabeleland has five registered growers consisting of one A1 grower and four A2 growers.
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development 2025/26 summer cropping season plan indicates about 360 million kilogrammes of tobacco are expected.
This will comprise 334,8 million kilogrammes, accounting for 93 percent of contract tobacco and 25.2 million kilogrammes from self-financed farmers.
