TIMB biometric system simplifies grower registration, boosts security

THE Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has hailed the rollout of its biometric grower registration system as a major success, with thousands of farmers already onboarded and reaping the benefits of enhanced security, transparency and accountability within the tobacco value chain.

Launched as part of broader efforts to curb side marketing and contract abuse, the biometric system, now fully functional across all provinces, links each grower’s unique number to their fingerprints and global positioning system co-ordinates of their household and farm.

The move comes amid concerns of the rampant misuse of grower identity and side marketing, where farmers either sell contracted tobacco to unauthorised buyers or pass off self-financed crops to contracting firms.

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