THE country’s tobacco industry is set for a major boost after President Emmerson Mnangagwa hinted on a new policy for tobacco financing.

As the government continuously works on bolstering the country’s agricultural sector, the launch of productivity booster kits by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Mazowe this Monday is not only expected to enhance the production of cereals but also encompass tobacco farming.

With a US$2 billion fund set to be rolled over the next 10 years, President Mnangagwa announced that A1 farmers who are into tobacco farming will also benefit from the initiative, which comes with domestic funding for the agriculture sector.

“The Productivity Booster Kits will also be made available to smallholder tobacco farmers, to localise the procurement of farming equipment and other aspects of the tobacco value chain. To support the programme, Technical Service Centres will be established in each of the 10 provinces of our country to serve A1 farmers. The centres, which will be run and operated by banks, will provide five functional services. These include: tillage services, technical and extension services, irrigation and mechanisation services, harvest and post-harvest services and monitoring and evaluation services,” the President said.

During the record 2025 tobacco marketing season, farmers raked in over one billion United States dollars after delivering more than 350 million kilogrammes.

Observers believe the value could have been more had it not been for the obtaining situation, where foreign capital is funding the production of the golden leaf.

President Mnangagwa also revealed that five banks have committed to providing additional working capital for boosting the agricultural sector.

He highlighted that A1 farmers are expected to make significant contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP) in the next few years.

“It is envisaged that, once capacitated, A1 farmers will be producing in excess of 10 million tonnes of cereal grain per annum. Resultantly, A1 farmers alone will be contributing an extra US$6.14 billion to the agricultural sector GDP with an excess of US$1.59 billion in household disposable income. Guided and inspired by our national development philosophy, ‘Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, inonamatigwa nevene vayo/ ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likhu-le-ke-lwe ngabanikazi balo’, let us join hands to build our beloved motherland, Zimbabwe. In this spirit, I challenge our farmers, the youth and women to take up this transformational innovative initiative, which will have far-reaching impacts, spanning from the household level to export potential of our country.”

Zimbabwe, like many other countries, is facing the threat of food insecurity due to climate change, which has increased the risk of drought.

It is in this light that the Second Republic has gone all out to climate-proof the country’s agriculture sector by building more dams and investing in irrigation infrastructure.