Zimbabwe smallholders drive tobacco rebound

Rows of green tobacco plants now stretch across Zimbabwean fields as the crop rebounds to record levels, driven largely by smallholders contracted to foreign firms. The revival is helping Africa’s top tobacco producer recover from the collapse that followed the country’s failed land reform drive nearly two decades ago.

Among the new farmers is Read Sola, 64, who joined more than 300 growers in Matabeleland, a region not traditionally known for tobacco. He said maize was not profitable because it was vulnerable to disease, and he is hoping for a better harvest from tobacco.

Zimbabwe’s tobacco board says about 95 percent of the country’s more than 127,000 registered tobacco farmers are contracted smallholders, and they account for 85 percent of total output. Most are tied to Chinese firms, with the model lifting production even as questions remain over debt, pricing and deforestation.

Output rose from 306,000 tonnes in 2024 to 355,000 tonnes in 2025, and officials expect it to top 360,000 tonnes this year after planted area increased by 15 percent. That marks a dramatic turnaround from 48,000 tonnes in 2008, when the sector collapsed after land seizures displaced hundreds of commercial farms.

The contract system gives farmers inputs on credit and a guaranteed buyer, but many say the economics remain harsh. Farmers such as Davis Tembo say yields can fall short when weather turns unpredictable, while industry leaders argue that charges and levies leave producers trapped in debt.

Chinese firms now account for about 60 percent of national output by value, or 30 to 40 percent by volume, according to the tobacco board. Zimbabwe is also trying to diversify buyers and raise domestic value addition, even as critics warn that tobacco expansion is taking land away from food crops and adding to environmental pressure.