Tag: Zimbabwe

  • Atlas to Increase Air-Cured Production

    Atlas to Increase Air-Cured Production

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Atlas Agri Zimbabwe plans to significantly increase its air-cured tobacco hectarage this season.

    According to The Herald, the sole contractor of this variety in Zimbabwe intends to grow 100 ha in 2024–2025.

    “So far, we have engaged over 150 farmers to produce the crop on over 100 hectares, up from last year’s 10 hectares that were done by 17 farmers,” Atlas Agri CEO Alex Mackay was quoted as saying.

    According to Mackay, many of the farmers who participated in the inaugural test expressed satisfaction with their sales. The top performing grower delivered 608 kg and received an average price of USD3.10 per kilogram.

    The success of the project has attracted more farmers.

    “We have seen over 300 new farmers applying for contracts, expanding our reach to Plum Tree, Fig Tree and the wider Mangwe region,” said Mackay. “Looking ahead, we have several initiatives in the pipeline aimed at enhancing yield and quality.”

    Atlas Agri aims to boost returns for its farmers while protecting the environment. Instead of relying on wood for curing fuel, the company’s contracted farmers rely entirely on natural elements.

    With the support and guidance from Agritex and the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), the company hopes to benefit both farmers and the economy in line with the government’s Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, according to Mackay.

    TIMB acting CEO Emmanuel Matsvaire noted that the cost of producing air-cured tobacco is relatively low at around USD400 per hectare.

  • Zimbabwe Firms Seek Help Entering Foreign Markets

    Zimbabwe Firms Seek Help Entering Foreign Markets

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Representatives of indigenous tobacco companies have asked the Zimbabwean government to help them secure export markets to widen their revenue base, reports The Herald.

    Company officials met separately with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement chaired by Felix Maburutse on Sept. 20.

    Richard Machingura, head of operations and agronomy at Norton Leaf Tobacco, said indigenous-owned companies in the tobacco sector were struggling to access foreign markets and would benefit from assistance from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, which regulates the domestic industry.  

    “As tobacco companies, we are also facing some challenges in the markets,” he was quoted as saying. “You will find that most of our tobacco locally, we are just doing the intermediate trading. So, we have a challenge of markets where we are not really able to export our tobacco, and this is affecting the growth of our industry,” he said.

    Zimbabwe’s tobacco export earnings increased 138 percent year-on-year to reach $436 million in the first quarter of this year.

    Traditionally a leading exporter of flue-cured Virginia, the country aims to extract more revenue from the business by moving to higher value products, such as cigarettes.

    In 2021, the government adopted the tobacco value chain transformation plan, which seeks to build a $5 billion industry by 2025.

  • Zimbabwe Growers Start Planting Irrigated Tobacco

    Zimbabwe Growers Start Planting Irrigated Tobacco

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe started planting irrigated tobacco this week, with many expressing optimism about the upcoming growing season, reports The Herald.

    Zimbabwe law stipulates Sept. 1 as the earliest legislative date for transplanting tobacco from the seedbed to the field. The bulk of rain-fed tobacco crop will be planted from late October to early December.

    Most irrigated tobacco is grown by contracted growers who get their inputs on time. About 95 percent of the country’s crop is grown by contracted farmers.

    “We have high hopes this season following the weather forecast so farmers are in the fields,” said  Tobacco Farmers Union Trust President Victor Mariranyika.

     Zimbabwean growers earned $793.18 million from 231.47 million kg in tobacco sales during the most recent marketing season, compared with $896.38 million from 295.94 million kg the previous year.

    However, most farmers made more money than in the prior season, leaving them in a good position for the upcoming growing season.

  • Tobacco Board Leaders Arrested for Fraud

    Tobacco Board Leaders Arrested for Fraud

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested two senior executives of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) and charged them with fraud, reports The Sunday Mail.

    TIMB chairperson Patrick Devenish and TIMB CEO Meanwell Gudu are accused of extending a loan facility of over US$494,000 to Ultime Accolade Private in May 2021 without the knowledge of the tobacco industry regulator’s board.

    The pair appeared in court just a day after Gudu was acquitted of criminal abuse of office charges involving more than $2 million.

    Gudu was previously charged alongside Stuart Shanyika, a former head of special services at the TIMB, and Andrew Evaristo Matibiri, a former TIMB CEO. The trio was arrested in September 2022.

    The state alleged that the executives, acting in connivance, entered into private agreements with handpicked tobacco contractors.

    They allegedly used funds from a TIMB loan obtained from Agribank through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to support these companies, contrary to provisions of the loan agreement.

  • Zimbabwe Poised to Set New Records

    Zimbabwe Poised to Set New Records

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe is poised to plant a record area of tobacco for the 2024–2025 growing season, reports The Herald.

    As of Aug. 1, growers had purchased more than 1 million grams of seed with potential to cover 201,036 hectares, according to the Kutsaga Tobacco Research Board. By the same time last year, they had bought only 831,000 grams with the capacity to plant 164,200 hectares.

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman George Seremwe said the likelihood is high that the country will eclipse both the area record of 146,000 hectares, set in 2019, and the output record of 296 million kg, established in 2023.

    “This could be a record-breaking year encouraged by last season’s good prices and the absence of alternative crops paying better than the golden leaf,” he was quoted as saying.

    Tobacco Farmers Union Trust Vice President Edward Dune noted that seed sales were a reliable index for hectarage estimations. “Given the tobacco pricing matrix over the years, coupled with the positive effects of the forecast La Nina weather, farmers will have no choice but do anything possible to get good quality leaf that will fetch high prices,” he said.

  • Kutsaga Releases Climate Resilient Seeds

    Kutsaga Releases Climate Resilient Seeds

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s Kutsaga Tobacco Research Board (TRB) has unveiled new tobacco hybrids designed to thrive in challenging climatic conditions.

    Frank Magama

    According to TRB CEO Frank Magama, the varieties grow rapidly, allowing them to withstand the impacts of drought and heat, which have become increasingly prevalent in the country due to the impact of climate change. Furthermore, the new varieties are resistant to multiple tobacco diseases.

    The TRB says they can yield between 2,500 and 3,000 kilograms per hectare even in the harshest environments.

    The new varieties are currently undergoing a limited-release program, targeting farmers in the arid regions of Masvingo, Midlands and Matabeleland South.

    “This program ensured that all Kutsaga varieties are extensively tested for their drought tolerance,” Magama told The Herald.

    More than 85 percent of Zimbabwean tobacco growers are smallholders, whose lack of irrigation facilities leaves their operations dependent solely on rainfall.

    This year’s El Nino weather phenomenon caused prolonged drought in Zimbabwe, resulting in low yields, poor-quality tobacco and reduced revenue.

    As the 2024 marketing season draws to a close, national crop output stands at 226 million kg, down from last year’s record-breaking harvest of 298 million kg.

  • Zimbabwean Cigarette Exports up by Half

    Zimbabwean Cigarette Exports up by Half

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwean cigarette exports rose from $71 million in 2022 to $106 million in 2023, reports The Herald

    A leading exporter of leaf tobacco, Zimbabwe has been keen to move up the value chain by producing products beyond raw tobacco.

    Zimbabwe is currently Africa’s sixth-largest tobacco exporter, behind countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia, according to Trade Statistics for International Business Development. Worldwide, it ranks 42nd among cigarette exporting nations.

    No African country was on the world’s list of 30 top cigarette exporters in 2023.

  • Zimbabwe Pioneers Centralized Curing

    Zimbabwe Pioneers Centralized Curing

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board and Boost Africa have jointly introduced a centralized curing business system for smallholder tobacco farmers, reports News Day.

    According to Boost Africa representative Henry Dike, the system will not only reduce production cost and efficiency but also boost sustainability.

    Smallholders in Zimbabwe have traditionally cured their tobacco individually. Most use wood as a fuel source, which has led to concerns about deforestation.

    “By providing them with the necessary resources and training, we are not just improving their yield but also elevating their entire farming operation to a commercial level,” said Dike.

    “It’s not just about financial gains; it’s about creating a sustainable, scalable farming practice that can be replicated across the country,” he added.

    Tafadzwa Mukarakate, agronomist and head of the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union, said the project was critical in ensuring that farmers have the means to reinvest in their operations.

    “The success of this project is a clear indication that with the right support, smallholder farmers can achieve commercial success,” he said.

  • Zimbabwean Firm to Turn Leaf Waste Into Agrochemicals

    Zimbabwean Firm to Turn Leaf Waste Into Agrochemicals

    Photo: Kym McLeod

    African Extracts of Zimbabwe is looking to process tobacco scrap into fertilizer and agricultural chemicals, reports The Herald.

    According to African Extracts CEO Sunny Singh, the company extracts crude nicotine from the tobacco waste. The crude nicotine is then used in multiple industries with further processing.

    “By doing so using our cutting-edge technology, we turn tobacco waste into a valuable resource and in turn boost earnings for farmers, as they will be able to derive more value from the entirety of the tobacco crop rather than just from the marketable leaf,” said Singh.

    Extracting the nicotine allows for the waste to be used more safely as manure or converted to organic fertilizer, according to African Extracts. “We understand the negative impact and complexities disposing such waste has on the soil and environment,” said Singh.

    “Through further processing, we will produce organic soil conditioners, pesticides and other agricultural inputs contributing to sustainable agricultural practices.”

    The million-dollar project is set to begin production in August.

    “We could see the challenges being faced by the tobacco processers in disposing their waste in an eco-friendly manner therefore our technology and production processes facilitates for a nonhazardous way of disposing tobacco waste,” said Singh.

    “There are opportunities to increase the level of value addition and beneficiation of tobacco,” said Emmanuel Matsvaire, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board CEO, highlighting the government’s recent attention to value addition.

  • Farmers Earn $1.3 Million From Shisha Leaf

    Farmers Earn $1.3 Million From Shisha Leaf

    Photo: Cavendish Lloyd

    Farmers in Zimbabwe have earned $1.3 million so far after selling 92 percent of the projected shisha crop size this marketing season, reports The Herald. The season is coming to a close with only one outstanding sale before the 2024 marketing season ends.

    Yield projections dropped from 800,000 kg to 500,000 kg due to the El Nino weather pattern, which caused drought and negatively affected the 2023/2024 agricultural season.

    Recent Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board statistics showed that growers sold 387,559 kg of shisha leaf valued at $1.27 million. The average price dropped from $3.44 per kilogram to $3.28 per kilogram. The highest price of the season was $5.70 per kilogram, and the lowest price of the season was $0.75 per kilogram. There has been an 8 percent rejection rate.

    “We are left with only one sale to clear all the produced shisha crop,” said Tinashe Mukadzambo, CEO of Cavendish Lloyd, the country’s sole shisha buyer.

    The 2024/2025 season is expected to be more lucrative due to forecast La Nina weather patterns. Cavendish Lloyd has begun contracting farmers. 

    “Growers should have enough arable land for crop rotations, preferably sand to sandy loam soils with priority given to those with a good source of water and can irrigate,” said Mukadzambo. “A risk assessment will be done to check on whether the grower has any outstanding loans from their previous tobacco seasons.”

    Shisha production increased 270 percent from 110 hectares during the 2022/2023 season to 407 hectares in the 2023/2024 season. Production is expected to increase to 500 hectares in the 2024/2025 season.