2025 Zimpapers Tobacco Conference Highlights Challenges and Opportunities in Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Sector

The 2025 Zimpapers Tobacco Conference convened key players from farming, finance, and processing to address challenges in Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry and chart a collaborative path forward. The event, held under the theme “Transforming Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry through Beneficiation and Value Addition,” focused on increasing local value creation and improving the sector’s competitiveness.

CBZ Bank opened discussions by reaffirming its commitment to de-risking farmer operations. The bank highlighted collaborations with researchers, aggregators, and value addition stakeholders to improve farmers’ creditworthiness. Collateral requirements remain a hurdle, but the new collateral registry offers a tool for securing farmer debt. Equipping farmers with stronger record-keeping and production management skills was stressed as a joint responsibility of private players, government, and financiers.

Edward Dune, president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust, painted a stark picture of the ground realities. He expressed concerns about alternative crops such as cannabis, noting that only four of 64 licensed producers successfully sold their product. Dune highlighted the eroded incomes faced by farmers due to levies and other costs, calling for greater collaboration in policy review to address implementation gaps.

Munyaradzi Kavhu, another banker, expressed cautious optimism. He acknowledged clear wins in tobacco output for the year but noted persistent pain points and opportunities for improvement.

Tapiwa Masedza, executive director at Chevron Tobacco, highlighted critical processing bottlenecks. Current green leaf threshing (GLT) factories can only handle about 90 tonnes per hour, far below the government’s 400 million kg target. Delays increase interest costs for local financiers and disrupt export schedules. Masedza advocated for investment in a fourth GLT plant to improve efficiency, reduce yield losses, and meet global standards. He also recommended establishing reconstituted tobacco factories to utilize by-products like dust and stems, lowering local cigarette production costs and boosting regional competitiveness.

Youth participation in the tobacco sector was discussed, with Tanga Joshuwa from the Zimbabwe Young Farmers Trust calling for a quarter of contracts to be reserved for young farmers. Masedza cautioned that youth diversion of contracted tobacco affects indigenous companies’ finances, while Dune argued that contract breaches often result from systemic issues rather than intentional wrongdoing.

Financing challenges for small-scale and youth farmers were addressed through CBZ’s tripartite model, linking banks, merchants, and aggregators to reduce lending risks. Kavhu proposed alternative financing options, including commercial paper, “tobacco bills,” and “tobacco bonds” to attract investors beyond traditional banks, positioning tobacco as a self-liquidating security.

Government engagement emerged as a key theme. Participants urged officials to actively negotiate international market access, formalize trade channels, and address rules facilitating illicit trade. David Machingaidze, chairman of Ethical Holdings, emphasized the need for aggressive policy interventions, investment incentives, and government-to-government arrangements to unlock export opportunities.

The conference concluded with a call for deeper collaboration across the value chain, innovative financial solutions, and a decisive policy environment. Stakeholders agreed that sustained action is required to maximize benefits from Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry, ensuring growth reaches all participants from smallholder farmers to large-scale processors.