Zimbabwe OKs Tobacco Transformation Plan

Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has approved a plan to generate more value from tobacco by localizing financing, increasing production and exporting cigarettes, among other measures, reports The Herald.

“The initiatives should contribute significantly to gross domestic product growth, foreign currency generation and employment creation, thereby raising household incomes,” said Monica Mutsvangwa, minister of information, publicity and broadcasting services.

The plan calls for local funding of tobacco production to complement external funders, raising tobacco production to 300 million kg by 2025, and diversifying into crops such as medicinal cannabis. By 2025, farmers should derive 25 percent of their incomes from alternative crops, according to the plan.

Mutsvangwa said the immediate objective of the plan was to increase tobacco production and productivity through increasing the yield per unit, increasing the area under crop and minimizing losses.