Zimbabwe: Stakeholders Set Covid-19 Market Guidelines

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has been working to set guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the tobacco selling season.

The board is expected to enforce a “deliver today, sell tomorrow” guideline, and only 20 farmers will be allowed to complete the sale of each batch before moving to the next one. Farmers will not be allowed to sleep overnight at the market, temperatures and IDs will be checked at the gate, and handwashing stations will be installed at the entrances.

“Tobacco is bought in the absence of the growers who shall come in to review after the sale. Floor marshals shall be deployed by the industry to ensure that rules set by the stakeholders are followed. They shall conduct random checks on gate passes and maintain the permitted number of people in a gathering,” the guideline proposal states.

Nonbooked tobacco will not be accepted, and sellers will be turned away.