Staff Writer
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) engaged farmers and key agricultural stakeholders at the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union (ZFU) 86th Annual Congress, where discussions focused on strengthening the agricultural sector ahead of the 2026/27 tobacco season.
The congress was officiated by Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Jongwe Masuka and provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss challenges affecting farmers and measures to improve agricultural production.
According to TIMB, the engagement focused on issues including El Niño preparedness, climate-smart production and the adoption of good agricultural practices as farmers prepared for the forthcoming tobacco season.
TIMB said the discussions were important in helping farmers and other stakeholders strengthen resilience to climate-related challenges while improving production standards and crop quality.
“The Board remains committed to working with growers and stakeholders to strengthen resilience, improve crop quality and promote sustainable production across the tobacco value chain,” TIMB said.
The tobacco regulator said collaboration between farmers, Government and other players in the agricultural sector remained critical to ensuring that growers were adequately prepared for the 2026/27 season.
TIMB also emphasised the importance of climate-smart production practices as farmers continued to contend with changing weather patterns and the need to maintain sustainable agricultural production.
The Board said continued engagement with growers would help address challenges affecting the tobacco value chain while promoting good agricultural practices and improving the quality of tobacco produced in the country.
The ZFU annual congress brought together agricultural stakeholders to deliberate on issues affecting farmers and the broader agricultural sector, with climate preparedness and sustainable production forming part of the discussions ahead of the new farming season.