Chronicle Editor
Yolanda Mlilo, Sunday News reporter
The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (Timb) is coming up with various facilities aimed at enhancing the capacity of smallholder farmers to produce high quality tobacco while adopting sustainable practices.
Timb is a regulatory and advisory statutory board whose functions include controlling and regulating the Farming and marketing of tobacco in Zimbabwe.
The board recently launched the Sustainable Tobacco Programme (STP) aimed at transforming the industry by prioritising smallholder farmer development and environmental stewardship, ensuring a sustainable future for tobacco farming communities.
In an interview with Sunday News, Timb public affairs officer, Mrs Chelesani Tsarwe revealed that through initiatives like the Centralised Tobacco Programmes Initiative (CTPI), they were enhancing the capacity of smallholder farmers to produce high-quality tobacco while adopting sustainable practices.
“The programme promotes the sharing of resources, such as infrastructure and expertise and introduces climate-smart varieties and fuel-efficient curing technologies.
By empowering smallholder farmers, Timb aims to improve their livelihoods, reduce environmental impact and promote fair labour practices, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable tobacco industry.
“The board has also introduced the Sustainable Tobacco Programme, which aligns our practices with global standards on environmental management, labour practices and community development,” said Mrs Tsarwe.
She said they had also introduced climate smart varieties and they also embarked on a Sustainable Afforestation Programme for the planting of fast-growing tree species.
“Growers are moving to fuel-efficient curing facilities like the Rocket Barn. Timb introduced and implemented the CTPI in 2022 to bring farmers together, organise their production, promote the sharing of infrastructure such as barn and irrigation facilities.
“Timb is also developing alternative curing fuels and methods. We commissioned an LPG/Biogas Barn Enhanced marketing systems. We are modernising the tobacco sector with a new biometric grower management system,” she said.
The biometric registration system involves recording farmers’ fingerprints and linking them to a unique identification number and their farm’s GPS location.
This innovative approach aims to increase transparency and prevent illegal side marketing by creating a secure and traceable record of each farmer’s produce.
“By promoting sustainability, Timb aims to improve incomes for farm workers through promotion of fair labour practices. This ultimately contributes to positive economic growth and sustainable livelihoods for tobacco growers and their communities.
“The board also introduced the Agricultural Labour Practices (ALP) code, which sets out ethical labour standards, including the elimination of child labour,”she said.
The public affairs officer said as Timb they ensure that tobacco growers and their communities benefit from sustainable practices by providing training and resources that empower farmers to adopt ethical practices and implementing a robust monitoring system that fosters accountability and ensures compliance with sustainable standards, ultimately leading to better livelihoods.
“Timb balances the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainability by promoting fair labour practices and addressing environmental concerns through the initiatives that have been shared in the previous responses.
“Some of the challenges Timb faces include resistance from some stakeholders to change established practices and ensuring consistent compliance with the ALP standards among all growers,” she said.
To address these challenges, Timb focuses on ongoing engagement initiatives, offering support in the implementation of ethical labour standards and monitoring to foster a culture of sustainability within the industry.
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