Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry has rebounded to record levels, driven largely by smallholder farmers working under contract with foreign buyers, particularly Chinese firms.
Production rose from 306,000 tonnes in 2024 to 355,000 tonnes in 2025, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board. Officials expect output to exceed 360,000 tonnes this year after a 15 percent increase in planted area, strengthening Zimbabwe’s position as Africa’s leading tobacco producer.
The recovery marks a dramatic turnaround for a sector that collapsed to about 48,000 tonnes in 2008 after Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform programme disrupted large-scale commercial farming. Today, around 95 percent of the country’s more than 127,000 registered tobacco farmers are contracted smallholders, and they account for about 85 percent of national output.
In Matabeleland, a region not traditionally known for tobacco farming, more than 300 farmers have taken up the crop. Many say tobacco offers better returns than maize, which has become increasingly vulnerable to disease, drought and poor prices. Among them is 64-year-old Read Sola, who told AFP he switched crops in search of a more rewarding harvest.
The contract model has been central to the boom. Buyers advance seeds, fertiliser and other inputs on credit, then purchase the harvest at agreed terms. For farmers without land titles or access to affordable bank loans, the arrangement can provide a rare route into commercial production.
But the system has also drawn criticism. Some growers say unpredictable weather, deductions and levies leave them trapped in debt, forcing them back into contract farming season after season. George Seremwe, president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association, said insurance charges, floor charges and other costs make production difficult for many farmers, accusing some contractors of keeping prices low.
Chinese companies dominate much of the sector. Tobacco board chief Emmanuel Matsvaire said Chinese firms account for about 60 percent of output by value, though only 30 to 40 percent by volume. He said Zimbabwe must reduce overexposure to the Chinese market, even as the country continues exporting to dozens of destinations.
The boom has also raised environmental and food-security concerns. The World Health Organization says tobacco cultivation has shifted increasingly toward Africa, contributing to deforestation and competing with food crops.
Zimbabwe wants to expand output further and increase local value addition, including cigarette production. For now, tobacco remains a major foreign-currency earner — but its record growth comes with unresolved questions over farmer debt, market dependence and environmental cost.
