TOBACCO FARMERS News : 48,000 UNLICENSED TOBACCO FARMERS EXPOSED

Figures from the Tobacco Commission (TC) show that number of licensed tobacco farmers for the 2019/20 season has grown by 7% to 48,000, in comparison to 45,000 farmers who were registered in the 2018/19 season.

According to stakeholders, the development is raising fears that quotas given to the farmers may be reduced, thereby reducing earnings.

According to the TC website, a Total of 48,042 licenses were registered for various types of tobacco. The figures below show that Burley tobacco registered the most licenses

Burley 42,248

Flue Cured 3,618

NDDF 1,857

SDF 319

On the other hand, barley dominated the volumes, as the website shows that the variety posted a whopping 129,549,664 Kgs out of 170,008,804 Kgs.