Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera and Takudzwa Mangrozah
Agriculture Hub
The tobacco industry is poised to shift from reliance on rain-fed agriculture to adopting climate-smart practices to produce 500 million kilogrammes of tobacco.
This comes as the sector is projected to grow from US$1,2 billion to US$7 billion by 2030.
This came out at the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan 2 (TVCTP 2) 2026-2030 workshop attended by stakeholders on Thursday.
The TVCTP 2 replaces the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan (2021/25), which lapsed last year.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary, Professor Ober Jiri, in a speech read on his behalf by chief director, Dr Dumisani Kutywayo, said tobacco was an important sector that would uplift hundreds of thousands of families, industrialise the economy and cement Zimbabwe’s place as a global leader in sustainable, high-value tobacco.
“The TVCTP 2, which we are here to validate today, is our decisive leap forward,” Prof Jiri said.
“It is a plan born from the lessons of the past and focused on the opportunities of the future. Its goal is very bold but achievable to build a US$7 billion tobacco industry by 2030.
“This is not about simply growing more leaves but about growing more value from our tobacco. We shall transition from rain-fed dependence to climate-smart agriculture, targeting 500 million kilogrammes by 2030.
“We must break the cycle of expensive, offshore financing that siphons value from our farmers. Our goal is to localise at least 70 percent of tobacco funding.”
He said during the five years of the economic blueprint, the country aimed to grow the sector from being a raw exporter to an industrial hub.
Value addition will be increased from 11 to 30 percent. Prof Jiri said the country would leverage the power of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to open new doors across the continent while deepening its presence in Asia and beyond under the “Zimbabwe Tobacco” brand, characterised by quality, sustainability and ethical production.
“The world is demanding sustainable and ethical supply chains. We will not just comply with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, we will lead by example.
“We must ensure that afforestation becomes mandatory for all tobacco growers, eradicate child labour, and implement an end-to-end digital traceability system, which will secure our social license to operate and ensure our tobacco remains the first choice for discerning buyers globally,” he said.
The TVCTP 2 is built around seven strategic pillars: enhancing productivity, sustainability and farmer resilience, localisation of tobacco financing, value addition and beneficiation, market and trade development, research, development and innovation, institutional strengthening, governance and policy coordination and environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance and traceability designed to transform tobacco into a high-value, climate-resilient and globally competitive industry.
