More than 121 000 tobacco growers have so far registered for the 2021/22 season, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has revealed.
Of those who have registered, 66 868 are communal farmers, 41 487 are A1 farmers, with A2 farmers being 6 911 and 6 544 farmers are from the small-scale sector.
Meanwhile, 144 529 farmers had registered during the same period last year. This shows that the number of registered growers has fallen by 19 per cent this year when compared to last year.
Statistics availed by TIMB show that the number of farmers registering for the first time has declined by 196 per cent from 1 716 last year, to 580 so far this year.
TIMB’s stricter grower vetting process and challenges being faced by the industry have been cited as the factors behind the sharp decline.