Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare
THE Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) is moving to make environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance a prerequisite for the annual licensing of tobacco contractors and merchants as the regulator tightens oversight of the sector.
The move comes as Zimbabwe enters the 2026/27 tobacco season following a record 359.1 million kilogrammes produced in 2026.
Under the strengthened framework, growers, contractors and merchants will be required to demonstrate compliance with measures covering environmental protection, labour practices, child-labour prevention, agrochemical waste management and supply-chain traceability.
“TIMB intends ESG performance scores to become a prerequisite for the future annual licensing of contractors and merchants,” the regulator said in a statement released this morning.
The proposed system will use automated ESG benchmarking to assess contractors and merchants against environmental, social and governance indicators.
Environmental indicators will include afforestation survival rates, adoption of efficient tobacco curing barns and crop protection container management, while social indicators will cover validated child-labour monitoring, personal protective equipment and worker training.
Governance indicators will include formal ESG policies, annual sustainability reporting and grievance mechanisms.
TIMB said the strengthened system would also improve verification of information collected from farms.
“Field reports will no longer stand on submission alone,” the regulator said.
“Technical Supervisors will validate evidence from monitoring visits to contracted and self-financed growers, with the information feeding into a centralised reporting platform.”
The regulator said increased tobacco production could intensify pressure on forests, labour systems and supply-chain compliance.
“The record crop strengthens the economy, but expansion without firm ESG discipline can intensify demand for curing fuel, place pressure on labour systems and increase compliance risks in export markets,” TIMB said.
At farm level, growers will sign a Sustainability Compliance Declaration during registration and comply with minimum Sustainability and Agricultural Labour Practices standards.
The industry maintains zero tolerance for child labour, forced labour, violence, harassment and unsafe working conditions.
TIMB is also bringing grower earnings into ESG oversight through monitoring of average buying prices and input-cost caps.
“Bringing these economic measures into ESG oversight will help TIMB identify unfair pricing and inflated input costs earlier,” it said.
Environmental compliance will also focus on reducing reliance on indigenous firewood for curing.
TIMB, working with Kutsaga, is promoting KCC1, Rocket Barn and Twin Turbo technologies, which can reduce wood consumption from about 8kg to four kilogrammes or less for every kilogramme of cured leaf.
TIMB said the reforms were intended to ensure tobacco growth is matched by responsible production that protects forests, workers, grower incomes and export-market access.
