By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Harare-Zimbabwe’s Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Anxious Masuka, emphasized on Thursday that the country’s success in the tobacco industry should serve as a model for other sectors to help achieve the nation’s goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030.
Minister Masuka made the remarks at the Kutsaga 75th anniversary research symposium held at the University of Zimbabwe.
The symposium, themed “Beyond 75 Years, Kutsaga Innovation and Agricultural Excellency in the Next 25 Years,” showcased innovations, research, and leadership in agriculture, with a focus on smart-climate farming.
He highlighted the ongoing transformation of the tobacco value chain, which is industry-led and government-facilitated.
The plan aims to increase tobacco production to 300 million kilograms this year, boost value addition to 30 percent, localize tobacco financing, and explore alternative crops to reduce dependency on tobacco.
“These are at various stages of implementation. A record tobacco crop is expected this year. Farmers will earn over US$1 billion, making them upper-middle-income earners. This also attests to the success of the land reform program,” Masuka said.
The minister credited the growth of the tobacco sector to the innovation and research driven by Kutsaga, which he described as the primary driver of the industry’s success.
“This year’s theme is both relevant and appropriate as innovative and insightful research, and technology transfer have undergirded the growth and transformation of the tobacco sector,” he stated.
He also noted that despite challenges faced by the sector, Kutsaga has cultivated a talented and resilient workforce.
“Since the Tobacco Research Board’s establishment, each generation of leadership has faced difficult and seemingly insurmountable challenges but with courage, resilience, persistence, perseverance and collective leadership, those challenges, be they financial, operational, land reform, changing grower patterns, markets, anti-tobacco lobby, traceability, sustainability and climate change, were overcome. This attitude and mindset has been part of Kutsaga DNA,” he said.
Masuka concluded by urging other sectors to learn from the tobacco industry’s success and innovation, asserting that this approach could help Zimbabwe realize its broader economic ambitions.