Farai Dauramanzi
Herald Correspondent
The tobacco industry will become more reliant in local financing and see a lot more value-added before export, with locally-made cigarettes assuming a larger share of the exports under a transformation plan approved by Cabinet yesterday.

Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan will grow the tobacco industry through localisation of tobacco financing, increased production and productivity, value addition and beneficiation, and exports of cigarettes.

“The initiatives should contribute significantly to Gross Domestic Product growth, foreign currency generation and employment creation, thereby raising household incomes in pursuit of Vision 2030,” she said.

The strategic objectives of the plan include local funding of tobacco to complement external funders, to raise tobacco production and productivity from 262 million kilogrammes to 300 million kilogrammes by 2025, as well as to diversify and increase the production of alternative crops such as medicinal cannabis and increase their contribution to the farmers’ incomes to 25 percent by 2025.

The transformation plan is also aimed at increasing the level of value addition and beneficiation of tobacco from two percent of total tobacco produced to 30 percent in order to increase exports of cigarettes.

Minister Mutsvangwa said the immediate objective of the plan was to increase tobacco production and productivity through increasing the yield per unit, increasing the area under crop and minimising losses.