Zimbabwe: Tobacco Marketing Board Extends Registration

Source from:  The Herald 01/19/2010

The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board has extended registration deadline up to March this year for farmers who want to grow the crop for the 2009/10 farming season. TIMB will conduct another round of mobile registration before the end of March to reduce congestion when farmers deliver their tobacco for sale. The board had stopped growers registration after 20 340 farmers had registered before the October 31 deadline last year, but still a number of new tobacco producers had indicated their willingness to register. According to the Tobacco Marketing and Levy Act, any person who is not registered and who by himself or through agents grows tobacco shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or both such fine and imprisonment. TIMB chief executive officer Dr Andrew Matibiri said growers who were late in registering needed not wait for the mobile registration exercise and could still apply for new registration after a payment of a late registration fee. "The requirements for registration are a copy of identity documents, proof of availability of land such as offer letter, letter from kraal head, lease agreement, proof that the applicant has planted tobacco and a testimonial with official stamp from local Agritex officer or other suitable agent," Dr Matibiri said. He said applications for 2010 registration of buyers were underway and should be done by January 31 to be considered by the board. "Only two applications for auction floor licences were received by the stipulated cut-off date of 30 September 2009. The applications were from ZITAC and Tobacco Sales Floor," he said. Dr Matibiri said 20 555 virginia, 407 burley and oriental tobacco growers had registered to grow tobacco for the 2009/10 season by December 31 last year. The highest number of farmers who registered for virginia and burley tobacco are A1 and communal farmers who constitute the largest group of oriental tobacco growers. TIMB this year departed from the norm by decentralising the registration process to speed up the process as well as shorten distances that farmers have to travel to register. Early registration, Dr Matibiri said, was to ensure TIMB and tobacco industry to plan for orderly marketing of the crop. This also helps to plan for the number of sales teams and mobilisation of resources. "The Government uses this information in planning for the macroeconomic policies. The tobacco merchants need this information early so that they estimate the supply and negotiate their own marketing arrangements," Dr Matibiri said. On the other hand, the growers' number is critical in the processing of payments once farmers have sold their tobacco and when they are applying for support from contractors. The country's tobacco register has a total of 62 000 growers with half of them being dormant. At least 32 000 farmers registered in 2008 with 28 000 of them selling their crop through the auction floors. Expectations were that there would be an increase in tobacco production for the 2009/10 season due to favourable prices that were being offered at the floors last season. There are however, fears that the crop output may be reduced by the hailstorms that have continuously destroyed the crop in different parts of the country, resulting in farmers losing millions of dollars worth of the crop. Enditem