The Government is putting in place measures to ensure that the country increases tobacco production and value addition for export markets, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka has said.
He made the remarks during his routine monitoring visits to provinces, and was touring Sambok commercial farm in Marondera yesterday.
Sambok farm has put 200ha under tobacco and is one of the farms where tobacco is being produced at a large scale.
Minister Masuka said the country will value add tobacco before exporting and Government intends to achieve a US$5 billion tobacco industry by 2025.
“We support tobacco and we want to use the tobacco transformation plan that the Government has put in place.
“We aim to increase the production from the current 212 million kilogrammes annually to 300 million kilogrammes by 2025,” he said.
“Then the next thing that we want to do is to ensure that there is more value addition and beneficiation. We export 98 percent of our tobacco in raw form therefore we are exporting jobs and value.
“In some estimates, they say that we produce more than 200 million kilograms of tobacco and as it cross the border, the same tobacco fetches US$15 billion and we only get US$1 billion.
“Our tobacco is worthy billions on the international market but as Zimbabwe we only get US$1 billion. So Government has now put in place the transformation plan to ensure that we increase the volume and also value add so that by 2025 we can have a US$5 billion industry,” hesaid.
“So we need our farmers to grow more tobacco because the markets are there. Zimbabwean tobacco is exported to 60 countries and our tobacco is liked by a lot of people. We need more of this flavour styled tobacco and we will continue to support our farmers.”
Sambok farm manager Mr Arran Rutherford Taylor said they will continue doing large scale farming and also welcomed the Government’s plans to value add tobacco.
In Mashonaland East Province, in terms of tobacco, the area planted as at December 24 is 19 215ha of which 7 494ha is under irrigation while, 11 721ha is dry land.
This signifies a 12 percent increase from last year, same period where 17 121ha was under irrigation and 10105ha on dry land.
Planting of dry land is now complete and officials are finalising on collection of information on actual area planted.
Legislation requires farmers to have destroyed their seedbeds by December 31, 2022.
Meanwhile reaping and curing of irrigated crop has already started and is going on well and the crop condition is good.
Before his tour of Sambok farm, Minister Masuka visited several Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmers in Ward 6, Marondera where he appreciated the effort by communal farmers in Marondera district. – The Herald
