Tag: Zimbabwe

Tobacco Earnings Reach Half Billion

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe has earned $500 million from tobacco sales since the start of the 2021 selling season, reports The Manica Post.
Statistics released by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) indicate that the highest price offered for tobacco grown under contract this season is $6.70 per kg, up from $4 last year.
According to estimates, at least 200 million kg of tobacco will be sold this season compared to 180 million kg, valued at $452 million, which were sold last year.
Crop hectarage went up by 6.84 percent from 117,000 hectares during the 2019–2020 season to 125,000 hectares of crop this year.
At day 60, at least 190 million kg valued at $500 million had been sold at an average price of $2.75, up from $2.44 last year.
About 151 million kg, valued at $360 million, were sold during the same period last year.
The TIMB has set the minimum support package that every contractor should provide to a farmer at $1,000 per hectare for smallholder farmers and $4,000 per hectare for commercial farmers.
July 4, 2021
Fearless Fighter

Mayiwepi Jiti
How Mayiwepi Jiti became a successful commercial grower in Zimbabwe’s male-dominated leaf tobacco industry.
By Stefanie Rossel
In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60 percent of employed women work in agriculture. As shown by the example of Malawi (“This Is a Man’s World,” Tobacco Reporter, May 2021), they are at a significant disadvantage compared to men as women often lack control over land and access to financing while being excluded from important links of the agricultural value chain. Being dependent on a male relative to access the land, they are vulnerable; a husband’s death, a divorce or simply a man’s change of mind can leave a female farmer landless overnight.
Zimbabwe is no exception. Tobacco, which today is grown primarily by smallholder farmers, accounts for about 40 percent of the country’s exports. According to the Borgen Project, approximately 72 percent of the country’s population lives in chronic poverty, and 84 percent of Zimbabwe’s poor live in rural areas. Zimbabwe has yet to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Its gross domestic product (GDP) has been declining since 2013, in part due to stalling investments and adverse climate conditions that hurt the agricultural sector.
“Zimbabwean women played and are still playing a pivotal role in resuscitating the country’s agricultural sector after its dilapidation by the Zimbabwean-British relations,” explains Mayiwepi Jiti. As a successful commercial farmer employing more than 200 permanent and seasonal workers and as the founder and president of the Zimbabwe Integrated Commercial Farmers Union (ZICFU), she is a rare example of a powerful woman in the country’s agricultural sector.
“Women are bearing positive results on the country’s economy, where tobacco accounts for 10.7 percent of the country’s GDP. However, the Gender Links 2013 Barometer on Zimbabwe reported that although Zimbabwe’s economic framework calls for women’s participation in key sectors of the economy, there are no gender-responsive policies in the agriculture sector. Plans are underway for the government to align legal frameworks that would ensure equal opportunities between men and women.”
Before the land reform of 1999, not a single woman owned a commercial farm in Zimbabwe’s mostly patriarchal commercial farming system. Females would inherit land only when there were no male heirs. Things gradually began to change from 2000, when the government redistributed land to redress the imbalances of landownership and a small number of Zimbabwean women secured land and became commercial farmers. Due to lack of funding in agriculture, contract farming was introduced as a temporary relief, but conditions remained unfavorable, especially for women.
Out of more than 110,000 small-scale farmers today, 39.5 percent are women, says Jiti—an increase triggered by a rise in the number of single mothers, either widowed or divorced or pressed with financial responsibilities. In tobacco farming, these women are accepted as equal partners when they are selling tobacco on the tobacco floors, but due to gender-based constraints and shortages of funds to compete with the patriarchal society, they are not yet fully involved in all stages of the tobacco value chain, Jiti points out. “This makes it difficult to be involved in decision-making and inclusion on finance issues. Women have a very limited voice in that aspect.”

In less than two seasons, I proved both the financiers and family members wrong
Mayiwepi Jiti
Rocky Road
Reflecting on her own career, Jiti says that raising her voice and getting heard as an entrepreneur was not easy. “I faced a lot of challenges when I took over running of the family farm when my husband suddenly passed away in 2004. I had small children to look after, I had over 300 farm workers who looked up to me and I had a farm to work on to make a living and run as a professional enterprise,” she says.
“Banks shunned me because of gender, and they looked down upon women as they had a feeling that as a woman, I was a nonperformer, and they did not know that behind every successful man there is a woman. Culturally in Zimbabwe, women tend to submit themselves to men and believe that it is the man who should initiate first before they follow. While men are discussing important issues, whether business or family issues, women are supposed to keep quiet or sometimes act behind the scenes. In most cases, the women are the brains, with brilliant and intelligent ideas. They are good at implementation and [are] naturally hard workers,” says Jiti.
A primary schoolteacher by training, Jiti married a man with a farming background. Together, they bought a farm in 1996 and set up the respective infrastructure, which involved clearing land, making bricks, constructing tobacco barns and preparing the land to plant a crop. Three years later, when Jiti was pregnant with twins, her husband persuaded her to resign from her job. Instead of teaching, Jiti became involved in farm work. “It was like he fully prepared me to eventually take over farming after him,” she says.
With both coming from farming backgrounds and having a lot of passion for agriculture, it was not difficult for her to proceed after her husband died in a car accident. At that time, they had just started construction of a dam for irrigation. The banks immediately stopped funding the project. “They demanded that I pay back what had been borrowed simply because they thought [that] as a woman, I was never going to finish off the project. Obviously, they judged me based on gender.”
However, Jiti managed to construct the dam to 75 percent of its intended capacity without bank funding. “I achieved this through planting and selling cash crops like potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes, with the assistance of well-trained supervisors whom I had groomed with the assistance of my husband.”
Today, Jiti grows tobacco on 80 hectares, whereas 50 hectares each are dedicated to maize and wheat, respectively. Most of the workers she employs are housed on the farm in self-contained houses with clean water and electricity.

While women are accepted as equal partners when they are selling leaf on the sales floors, they remain disadvantaged in other parts of the tobacco value chain. (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Successful Exporter
The start was tough. “Running the farm and the family was a huge responsibility which needed sobering up and tireless hard working. I had very limited time to rest as I had a huge responsibility. My two children were in junior primary school when my husband passed on. Most family members looked down upon my abilities as a single mother and businesswoman. But in less than two seasons, I proved both the financiers and family members wrong. I pulled through and became a very successful and prominent farmer as I managed to not only look after extended family members, but I also successfully joined the male and white dominated export field of fruits and vegetables to Europe and won an international gold award on production of quality products.” Due to racial discrimination, black farmers were not allowed to venture into export, she adds. As information was not easily and readily accessible, it wasn’t an attractive field of business for them either.
While more women are now in leadership positions, Zimbabwean farming is still dominated by men, according to Jiti. Women, she says, are often told to give their ideas to their husbands, who then take the credit. What’s more, female entrepreneurs also suffer the challenge of defying social expectations. “On the one hand, men tend to believe that to be successful in any business, there is a need to be competitive, aggressive and sometimes harsh. On the other hand, some successful women out there are mostly true to themselves and generally confident with their work,” says Jiti. “The societal perspective needs to change, and women must be embraced for who they are. They ought to be given a chance to display their wings on their own and not to be made to compete with men, who are born inherently different.”
Another issue is that most women have no access to funding. “In my opinion, if there are government grants, they must benefit women equally as much as they benefit most men,” says Jiti. “Other challenges need to be addressed as well. Examples are corruption, the bottleneck system on the certification on export permits and the middlemen in the tobacco industry who buy farmers’ produce at low prices and resell it at huge markups.
Contract farming, she believes, plays a positive role to most women farmers in Zimbabwe, where tobacco is typically sold in auctions. Under the current tobacco-selling regulations, farmers receive 60 percent of their tobacco payments in U.S. dollars and the remainder in Zimbabwe dollars.
Farm inputs are priced in U.S. dollars, and the Zimbabwean dollar has been subject to considerable inflation. “In a country like Zimbabwe, which is believed to have many small-scale farmers who are unable to participate in intensive agricultural production and lucrative export markets, contract farming will be the way to go, at least for now,” says Jiti. “It is the women who suffer most as they have restricted access to loan facilities, insurance, are treated unfairly, etc. Contract farming has been tried before and has proven to be useful to most women. I therefore believe that if it is upheld, it assists in the promotion of most women into intensive agricultural production.”
Representing Farmers’ Needs
Jiti founded the ZIFCU in 2018 after facing challenges with the existing farmers union, ZFCU, where she was vice president of administration. “ZCFU has been registered as a private company benefiting a few individuals and allocating themselves union properties that were acquired by farmers for the benefit of the union members,” Jiti says. “Being a woman founding the union would not be taken lightly by the men-dominated ZCFU as they think it is a direct challenge to their union and are scared of the competition as they are quite aware that women leaders deliver. As a result, they are trying by all means to tarnish my image by false accusations. It is so sad to note that ZCFU leadership has very little knowledge about agriculture, making them very passive leaders in as far as farming challenges is concerned.”
ZICFU provides support networks to farmers, ensuring they have access to resources and skills training and development for them to effectively utilize the land and market their produce. Groups represented by the association include subsistence agriculture, dairy farming, ranching, poultry and hobby farming. “ZICFU creates collaboration between farmers regardless of gender and other organizations, government and private partners to enable them to get the best out of their land,” Jiti explains.
Because irrigation equipment is expensive, small-scale to medium-scale Zimbabwean farmers tend to produce only rain-fed crops, which means low productivity. Most smaller farmers depend on government input handouts, which do not encourage them to expand production. When given these free packages, some farmers sell them to earn a small income for immediate household needs, eroding their credibility as borrowers in the eyes of the banks, according to Jiti. “The huge interest rates charged by the lenders are exorbitant and leave the farmer always in debt.”
To eliminate this—and to deal with the effects on precipitation of climate change—more dams must be constructed. “In addition, there is need for the Zimbabwean government to constantly give grants to the deserving citizens so that those that are into commercial farming can afford irrigation equipment and other inputs that assist them in their farming activity thereby also bringing foreign currency to Zimbabwe.
“I also believe that farmers need to be educated on the importance of evolving from subsistence to commercial agriculture. Commercial farming is highly rewarding, not only for the farmer but for the country at large,” Jiti says. Furthermore, she argues, people need to be educated on the importance of honoring the credit facilities. “This farming business can only succeed if we as farmers observe the need to be honest amongst ourselves and to the bank. The banking sector should charge reasonable interest rates for the sustainability of the farmers.”
It is at this juncture that ZICFU comes in as an organ that advocates for positive change in agriculture. “Our aims and objectives are centered on the evolution in the agriculture sector and being the voice of the women who are still downtrodden, who also need emancipation and empowerment. In addition, ZICFU educates farmers to stand on their feet instead of constantly relying only on government grants and to embrace the digital world. We therefore intend to bring more awareness campaigns to the Zimbabwean farmers from all spheres, which will assist them in moving from small-scale farming to commercial farming, which is also in line with the Zimbabwean economic blueprint.”
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.

June 1, 2021
The Smoke That Thunders

A startup cigar manufacturer hopes to move Zimbabwe’s tobacco exports up the value chain.
By Thulani Mpofu
When water flowing along Africa’s fourth longest river, the Zambezi, plunges over a cliff to a gorge 108 meters below at a point on Zimbabwe’s western border with Zambia, it produces a roaring sound and a spray of droplets visible from 48 km away.
From a distance, the immense collection of droplets looks like a pall of white smoke. The Tonga people, among the first inhabitants of western Zimbabwe, call the landform Mosi Oa Tunya, “The Smoke that Thunders” in English. It is now officially known as the Victoria Falls after Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone first saw falls on Nov. 16, 1855, and named them in honor of Queen Victoria of Britain. In addition to being Africa’s most famous waterfall and Zimbabwe’s foremost tourist attraction, Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Zimbabwe’s first cigar maker, which started operating in March 2020, aspires to be what Victoria Falls is to local and global tourism while giving consumers a smoking experience that thunders.
“The naming of the cigar is not by coincidence,” Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars founder and CEO Shepherd Mafundikwa told Tobacco Reporter. “This will be the smoke that thunders!”

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Mafundikwa has never smoked but was motivated to consider investing in cigar making after he had a discussion with a friend while in the United States in 2019. They talked about Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry, its contribution to the southern African country’s economy, the level to which it is being beneficiated and prospects for growth. Cigar making featured prominently in their discussion. Mafundikwa had lived and worked in the U.S. for 15 years. Returning to his homeland, Zimbabwe, he and his friend Loy Veal started translating the casual conversation they had had into practice. Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, was the natural choice for the setting up of the factory because the city is the center for tobacco trade in the country and is surrounded by four tobacco growing provinces.
Mafundikwa also travelled to Cuba and the Dominican Republic to learn more about cigar making as well as to recruit staff skilled in cigar rolling. He convinced several cigar rollers to come over from Cuba to help him launch the business, but after some time, most of them opted to return home. However, a veteran cigar roller from the Dominican Republic, Elias Lopez, stayed on and became the head of training. He has, since May, been training an all-female workforce of eight.

The Mosi Oa Tunya team. Elias Lopez is the fifth person from the left and Shepherd Mafundikwa is the sixth. (Photos: Mosi Oa Tunyaosi)
Lopez, who is also a cigar smoker, has been rolling them for 30 years in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama for companies such as Arturo Fuente, Davidoff and other legends. Prominent American film actors and producers Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris have smoked some of the cigars he has rolled during his time in the Americas, Lopez claims.
“When I agreed to come to Zimbabwe, I didn’t know what to expect,” Lopez said.
“I must say, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tobacco, the warmness of the people and the pace at which the students have grasped the cigar rolling skills. I’m proud to be associated with the first cigar making factory in Zimbabwe, and I look forward to being part of the growth this company will definitely experience. The world will soon know and love the Mosi Oa Tunya cigar brand.”
Zimbabwe is Africa’s leading tobacco growing nation and the sixth largest internationally. The three main types of tobacco grown in the country are Virginia flue-cured, burley and Oriental. Virginia accounts for over 95 percent of the leaf outputs, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).
Burley, which Mafundikwa says his company rolls into cigars, contributes between 2 percent and 3 percent of total yearly tobacco output in the country.
“Ninety-five percent of our cigar input is locally grown burley,” he said.
“The wrapper is imported. We are working with local experts to grow the wrapper, and hopefully we will soon have a 100 percent Zimbabwean cigar.”

I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tobacco, the warmness of the people and the pace at which the students have grasped the cigar rolling skills.
Elias Lopez, veteran cigar roller
Goodson Khudu, a research and extension officer at the Tobacco Research Board, said burley is grown in Burma Valley in eastern Manicaland Province near Zimbabwe’s eastern border with Mozambique.
“That area has the right climatic conditions for the crop,” said Khudu.
“We have had some German interest in contracting local farmers to grow burley there, and it has been very successful. However, output has been low in recent years, suggesting that the company (Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars) might want to consider promoting its growing in a bigger way so that local production meets all their requirements.”
The German tobacco firm Von Eicken has been supporting farmers in Burma Valley to grow cubra. In 2016, 11 tons were produced under the Von Eicken initiative. The volume expanded to 20 tons in 2017 and 24.5 tons in 2018.
Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars recognizes that a large proportion of locally grown tobacco is exported unprocessed, a weakness that is shared by other countries in Africa. The firm produces three blends—light, mild and strong. The light flavor is for beginners and is available in mini cigars.
“Our staff is still undergoing training, and at optimum production we will be producing 1,500 cigars a day,” Mafundikwa said.
“We want to scale up production, but the final figures will depend on market demand. Surprisingly, there is a very vibrant cigar smoking culture which we were unaware of. At the moment, all our output is being locally consumed, and there is potential to grow the market as more people become aware of our product.”
He is happy to be contributing to local tobacco beneficiation in a country that exports up to 90 percent of its leaf raw.
“This is not peculiar to Zimbabwe,” said Mafundikwa. “It’s a continental problem where countries find it easy to export raw materials. In addition, finances also hinder players getting into manufacturing. We at Mosi Oa Tunya are playing our part in value addition. Governments have to come up with policies and support to start manufacturing entities.”

Mosi Oa Tunya is confident the quality of its cigars is comparable to that of any brand anywhere.
The cigar manufacturing industry in southern Africa is small, with reports that there are only two companies in the region that are in the business—Zimbabwe’s Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars and Bongani Cigars in neighboring Mozambique. The latter, which considers itself Africa’s first in this luxury market, hand rolls 10,000 cigars every month with locally grown tobacco and wrappers imported from Cameroon across the continent in West Africa. It was founded in 2016 and, like its Zimbabwean counterpart, relied on a maestro from the Dominican Republic to train Mozambican rollers. It sells locally and exports to South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, among other countries.
Mafundikwa is aware that breaking the stranglehold of legends in the elite cigar market will not be easy for his greenhorn. However, his company has already had expressions of interest from Vietnam, Romania, Dubai and the U.S.
“We are making an African cigar, and we believe the quality is comparable to any brand anywhere given the legendary status of Zimbabwean tobacco. The lure of a new exotic and authentic African product will be our trump card, and we will thrive on competition,” he said.
Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars has been received well by locals who are excited that at last their country has an exotic product to match their nation’s lofty standing as Africa’s biggest producer and one of the world’s top six growers.
TIMB chief executive officer Andrew Matibiri said the government always encouraged greater investment in tobacco beneficiation, but the response has been slow. There are about four cigarette manufacturers in the country, with British American Tobacco dominating. The entry of Mosi Oa Tunya into the market, he said, is a welcome addition.
“It is clear that, yes, we are the dominant growing nation on the continent and among the top six globally, but that dominance has not been matched by corresponding investment in adding value to tobacco,” Matibiri said.
“I am talking here about the flue-cured leaf, which is more than 90 percent of the national output. But like Oriental and others, we are exporting them in raw form. Therefore, we welcome Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars in the context of the national effort to boost value addition and hope that, with time, they will get all their requirements locally. We are excited that they have joined that niche market and wish them the best.”
June 1, 2021
Farmers Targeted by Dishonest Middlemen

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Many small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe complain they are being impoverished by merchants who are luring them into a debt trap.
According to an article by AP, unscrupulous middlemen offer farmers loans to pay for fertilizer, seed and firewood for curing. In addition to repaying the loans with interest, farmers must sell the crop at a price set by the merchant, who then sells it to the highest bidder at auction.
Farmers end up earning only a fraction of what the tobacco fetched at the sales floor.
For more than 60 years, tobacco was a lucrative export crop from which white farmers profited. But after the year 2000 when President Robert Mugabe’s supporters began seizing white-owned farms, often violently, tobacco production plummeted. The flue-cured tobacco crop dropped from a 1998 peak of 260 million kg to just 50 million kg in 2008.
Since then, tobacco production by Black farmers has grown. Before Mugabe’s land reforms, the bulk of the tobacco crop was grown on a few thousand white-owned commercial plantations. Today, it is grown by more than 145,000 small-scale Black growers. Zimbabwe’s tobacco crop is estimated to be 200 million kg this year, up from 180 million kg last year.

At the heart of the problem is the inability of resettled farmers to raise their own finance through banks. Banks fear that they will be left holding a piece of paper if a farmer fails to repay.
John Robertson, economist
Before the land reforms, Zimbabwe’s commercial banks gave loans to white farmers so they could purchase inputs for their crops. But the banks pulled out years ago because the government has not issued transferable ownership deeds to the Black farmers resettled on the formerly white-owned land. This means they have no collateral to secure commercial bank loans.
At the heart of the problem is the inability of resettled farmers to raise their own finance through banks, said economist and analyst John Robertson.
“Banks fear that they will be left holding a piece of paper if a farmer fails to repay. They can’t touch the land,” said Robertson.
While many farmers are contracting with reputable leaf merchants who buy tobacco directly for their customers, the difficulty of securing bank loans leaves others vulnerable to predatory middlemen.
The government says the solution lies with a state-owned Land Bank launched in April, which would loan farmers money for their tobacco crops at reasonable rates.
May 25, 2021
Forestry Officials Sound Alarm in Zimbabwe

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwean forestry officials have raised alarms about the rate at which trees are being cut for tobacco curing, charcoal production and other purposes, reports The Herald. The country loses more than 262,000 hectares per year due to farming activities and fires, among other reasons.
“Within the next 10 years, we are likely to see a huge decrease in tobacco farming if alternatives are not found,” said Forestry Commission Director-General Abednigo Marufu. “We want to encourage chiefs to encourage sustainable tobacco farming.”
Because Zimbabwe’s native trees take many years to replenish, Marufu called on tobacco farmers to plant gum trees, which grow quickly and require little water.
“Farmers should embrace the species of gum trees that we have introduced in other parts of the country, except for Manicaland,” he said. “These have been under test since 1966, and they don’t require a lot of water.”
Marufu also urged growers to consider alternative energy sources, such as biogas.
The Forestry Commission encourages the use of trees that enrich the soil while lamenting the involvement of political figures in the illegal charcoal trade.
Every year, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development releases funds to the Forestry Commission for tree planting. The money is deducted from each farmer’s total sale of tobacco for the Afforestation Fund, which is taken through the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board.
Nurseries of trees have been set up in provinces and have produced over 6.8 million trees that are availed to tobacco farmers for free.

Zimbabwe’s Sustainable Afforestation Association aims to create sustainable wood sources, conserve indigenous forests and research alternative fuels. (Also see “Back in Business,” TR June 2018.)
May 18, 2021
Zimbabwe Campaigning Against Rogue Buyers

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) in Zimbabwe has begun a campaign to expose middlemen in the illegal tobacco trade.
These middlemen are said to be traveling to farms where they are offering low prices for tobacco in return for instant payments. According to NewsDay, the middlemen have been working with officers at the tobacco auction floors to sell the leaf at huge margins.
Most of Zimbabwe’s tobacco is produced by small-scale communal farmers who are poorly funded. Ninety-five percent of the tobacco sold through “side marketing” would have been grown under contract with registered financiers.
“We are quite happy about this initiative by TIMB,” said Shadreck Makombe, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union. “As we do away with side marketing, we are bringing in business ethics. We are now conducting business on professional grounds, which is a good development. Even investors will start to have confidence when they want to invest their money. They know that it is secure.”
“This initiative is noble,” he said. “We are encouraging farmers not to be enticed by unscrupulous buyers. If they continuously get arrested and sanctioned in such a manner, side marketing can be limited and probably completely eliminated.”
“For the 2021 tobacco marketing season, the TIMB has embarked on an exercise to name and shame illegal buyers and sellers of tobacco,” said Chelesani Moyo, TIMB spokesperson. “The aim of this exercise is to discourage repeat offending and deter would-be illegal buyers and sellers. So far, 85 illegal buyers and sellers have been fined.”
May 11, 2021
Zimbabwe Earns $50 million From First Sales

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwean leaf tobacco sales totaled $49.9 million after the first nine days of trading, compared to $24.5 million during the same period in 2020, the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) reported.
Leaf growers delivered 19.97 million kg during the first nine days, up 83 percent over the 10.8 million kg from like 2020. This season’s crop garnered an average price of $2.50 per kg to date, up from $2.27 per kg at this point last season.
However, farmers’ unions are displeased with current leaf prices, which dropped during the second week of the marketing season.
“The first week of this tobacco selling season saw the firming of prices above $5 per kg; some tobacco was sold at $6.30 per kg, which was paid by contractors,” said Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union President Shadreck Makombe. “Prices at direct auction hovered around $4.99 per kg. Every merchant was out fighting to dominate. In the second week, most contractors dropped prices. They are now buying at a discounted price. This is a big blow to most of the farmers who are contracted and are the majority of tobacco growers. They cannot sell elsewhere.”
Prior to the start of the marketing season, industry representatives expressed concern about tobacco growers’ ability to repay their debts.
April 23, 2021
Zimbabwe Wants $5 billion Tobacco Industry

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe wants to create a $5 billion tobacco industry by 2025, reports Bulawayo24, citing Agriculture Minister Anxious Jongwe Masuka.
Speaking at the opening of the Zimbabwe tobacco marketing season on April 7 in Harare, Masuka told stakeholders that the government would increase funding of both large-scale and small-scale tobacco farmers to increase output.
Masuka said agriculture remained one of the key sectors in the quest to transform the country into an upper-middle-class economy.
According to the minister, plans are underway to increase tobacco production to 300 million kg per year.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board expects sales of about 200 million kg this year, up from 184 million kg in the previous season, due to favorable rains.
Tobacco merchants expect to spend around $500 million on Zimbabwean tobacco this year, generating much-needed foreign currency for the country.
The industry is also one of the largest employers in a country suffering from widespread unemployment, despite vast agricultural and mineral resources.
The global tobacco market size was valued at nearly $850 billion in 2019.
April 9, 2021
High Hopes as Zim Tobacco Season Opens

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe’s tobacco farmers were optimistic about the upcoming marketing season as the markets opened April 7, according to a report in The Chronicle.
The marketing season, which traditionally starts between February and March, was delayed due to Covid-19. The country expects to benefit from high demand with projected volumes at around 200 million kg. An initial crop assessment report indicates that farmers planted 125,177 hectares of tobacco this season compared to 117,049 hectares last season.
TIMB statistics show that by March 19, 2021, a total of 145,625 farmers had registered for tobacco production and selling.
Farmers also look forward to good prices as they have produced a high-quality crop due to the favorable rains.
Under a new foreign currency retention scheme, farmers will receive 60 percent of their tobacco earnings in U.S. dollars and 40 percent in local currency. Last year, the ratio was 50-50.
“The foreign currency will help us break even and remain with a profit,” said George Seremwe, president of the Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe.
The foreign currency will help us break even and remain with a profit.
George Seremwe, president, Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe
Earlier, farmers’ representatives had warned of a debt trap facing Zimbabwean tobacco growers.
Last year, farmers complained after they were hit by the fixed official exchange rate at the start of the season, which did not reflect the real market value exhibited by the volatility of the local currency at that time.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe have built up a set of rules to ensure both contractors and farmers are committed and act fairly.
Copies of legally binding contracts were submitted to the TIMB, and the deadline was last September. The contracts had to be supported by proof of inputs distributed using paid up invoices or payment plans with suppliers.
April 7, 2021
Zimbabwe: New System to Pay Farmers Quickly

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe’s 2021 tobacco marketing season will open on Wednesday with a new payment system that will pay farmers within minutes rather than days after selling their product, reports The Sunday Mail.
“There is no need for tobacco growers to go even one day without being paid,” said Vangelis Haritatos, deputy minister of lands, agriculture, fisheries, water and rural resettlement. “The systems are so efficient that they have guaranteed us that within 10 minutes that some form of payment will be arranged. So the farmers come in with the produce, they deliver and almost immediately the account is credited; we don’t see any challenges, the money is coming in.”
In the past, payment for tobacco deliveries could take days to be processed.
Haritatos said the ministry would not tolerate side marketing.
“We keep encouraging and telling our farmers that farming is indeed a business,” he said. “Through the TIMB [Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board], the systems are all integrated; they all talk to each other. So if [I] have been contracted to TIMB and I try and sell my product to another floor or another contractor, basically I will be blocked because the systems talk to each other.”
Last week, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said it had put in place effective payment procedures to ensure merchants and farmers can retain or be paid 60 percent of their net revenue in foreign currency and 40 percent in local currency.
The TIMB has adopted a stricter and stringent regime of Covid-19 health protocols that restrict access to the floors to one person per delivery.
Under the new rules, flea markets and hawking will not be permitted around the premises of tobacco auction floors.
April 5, 2021