Tobacco plantings surge as season opens

Zimbabwe’s tobacco season opens with a 22% surge in plantings, driven by improved inputs, strong global demand and renewed farmer confidence (image source)

Harare — Zimbabwe’s tobacco sector has recorded a strong early-season surge, with the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) confirming that a total of 27,215 hectares have been planted for the 2025–26 season, a 22% increase from the same stage last year. The rise represents one of the most significant early-season expansions in the past five years, driven by improved access to seed, fertiliser and irrigation equipment, and sustained confidence following a profitable 2024 auction season. The TIMB reports that 23,517 hectares of the current plantings are under irrigation, a record ratio suggesting greater mechanisation and input-intensity among both commercial and smallholder growers.

Growth has been most pronounced in Mashonaland East (up 41%), Manicaland (17%) and Mashonaland West (15.4%), regions that collectively account for over two-thirds of Zimbabwe’s flue-cured output. Industry sources attribute the expansion to favourable rainfall projections, targeted government extension programmes, and a new financing framework that opened an additional registration window for late transplanters. “This season’s uptick reflects both improved weather in key districts and renewed farmer confidence after last year’s strong auction returns,” said an agribusiness analyst who tracks the tobacco sector.

The rebound coincides with stronger global demand and higher contract-floor prices, as Chinese and Middle Eastern buyers rebuild inventories. Export receipts from the 2024 season exceeded US$1.2 billion, making tobacco Zimbabwe’s single largest agricultural foreign-exchange earner and a critical driver of rural livelihoods. The sector now supports over 160,000 registered growers and thousands more seasonal workers in ancillary industries from transport and packaging to fertilizer supply.

The 22% increase signals renewed confidence in an industry central to Zimbabwe’s balance-of-payments position. Higher plantings could lift rural incomes and stimulate demand for agricultural services, but economists caution about associated risks: water pressure from expanded irrigation, growing input-credit exposure, and vulnerability to international price corrections at auction. The TIMB has pledged closer monitoring of environmental practices, especially in water-stressed areas, and is encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable curing technologies.

Analysts say that while tobacco’s dominance remains vital for export earnings, the long-term challenge lies in diversifying agricultural exports and value-adding locally to reduce dependence on raw leaf sales. For now, optimism prevails as growers prepare for a promising season that could consolidate Zimbabwe’s global market share, provided weather, logistics and financing align in the months ahead.