Women, youths to get jobs as Iranian investors target Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry

Tendai Rupapa in Tehran, Iran

CASES of middlemen short-changing tobacco farmers will soon be over and thousands of jobs are set to be created by Iranian investors who have expressed willingness to work in Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry.

Among the areas the investors are targeting in the tobacco value chain are irrigation, tobacco curing and processing equipment, chemicals, tractors and appropriate mechanisation for various farming scales including the smallholder farmers. They also want to set up factories and warehouses in Zimbabwe.

Once concluded, the deal is expected to end challenges where tobacco farmers lost large sums of money to exploitative middlemen who were buying their crop for a song and taking it to foreign buyers for hefty prices.

There is also scope for exchange programmes to enhance the capabilities of women and youths who form the bulk of workers in tobacco farming here just like in Zimbabwe, enhancing the economic empowerment of Zimbabwean women.

The Iranian Tobacco Company, which imports some of its tobacco from Zimbabwe, decried the presence of middlemen saying it was becoming too expensive for them but are willing to work with the Government of Zimbabwe directly with companies and small holder farmers through contract farming. They want to be involved in tobacco production and processing on Zimbabwean soil.

The delegation which met with the company’s representatives is part of First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s entourage which is here at the invitation of Iranian First Lady. The proposed co-operation dovetails with Dr Mnangagwa’s passion to economically empower the country’s citizenry, especially women and youths in the march towards attainment of an upper middle-income status by 2030.

The Zimbabwean delegation highlighted various areas of co-operation as the Iranians, led by Dr Hamid Gharesheikh, a Member of the board, Vice-President of Commerce and Economy said the company was founded 100 years ago.

The majority of workers in the Iranian tobacco fields, Dr Gharesheikh said, were women because of cultural reasons that women do work in areas with less labour while men do heavier work in industries. He said when they start business with Zimbabwe, they will prioritise women as is the case in Iran where the rice and tobacco industries are mainly about women.

The women are involved in peak labour demand activities such as harvesting, curing, sorting and processing of the tobacco into by-products. The company has latest machinery with its cigarettes maker making 10 000 sticks in one minute.

“We import other types of tobacco which we can’t produce locally. We import from Zimbabwe, Brazil and China. We hope to co-operate with Zimbabwe. Because of the relationship we have with Zimbabwe, we have experts who go to Zimbabwe annually to see the types of tobacco. Through this we have identified potential areas for co-operation to boost our production.

“We get our needs through agents and prices go higher for us and also causing Zimbabwean farmers to have little profit. We want to get companies to work with directly in Zimbabwe and do away with middlemen. We want to increase our relationship with Zimbabwe.

We are under sanctions and it’s difficult for us to import from other western countries but with Zimbabwe we have a better understanding and for that our co-operation will be helpful to both of us. We can also supply you with equipment such as tractors and implements for production. We can also supply dryers for curing and processing,” he said.

Dr Gharesheikh said they were willing to visit Zimbabwe for talks and possible co-operation.
“For this to be done, we can work with your Government through the Ministry of Agriculture. Another area of co-operation is we can come to Zimbabwe and spearhead the cross-border cultivation of different types of tobacco needed in Zimbabwe. This will mean creating employment for women since in our culture the majority of women are the ones working in tobacco industry. We can set up factories and warehouses in Zimbabwe. These are several areas of interest for us. We are very serious and can’t wait to hit the ground running. We want fruitful co-operation with Zimbabwe,” he said.
This came as Mrs Chipo Zishiri, from Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development under the department of Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services gave highlights of opportunities in Zimbabwe. She firstly acknowledged the presence of First Lady Dr Mnangagwa in Iran.

“We would want to appreciate the efforts she is doing in agriculture, empowering women in different crop and livestock production issues and right now she has expanded her initiatives to women producing cash crops including tobacco. So, we are happy that we are here and we have seen the participation of women in agriculture.

I want to elaborate the opportunities we have in tobacco industry in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe produces two types of tobacco — flu-cured and burley. The flue-cured tobacco is on the increase. As a country we have the best climatic conditions for the production of flue-cured tobacco. We are the best in the world in terms of quality, in terms of flavour and aroma from the flue-cured tobacco,” she said.

In terms of partnerships, Mrs Zishiri said there were opportunities in Zimbabwe for the production of tobacco between Zimbabwe and Iran.

“We want the types of tobacco needed by Iran so that it can be market-specific in that we would want specific types of fertilisers from Iran to meet the quality of tobacco produced by Zimbabwe. In addition, we would expect the technical back-up in terms of capacity-building in the production of tobacco needed by the specific market.

Tobacco in Zimbabwe is being produced and cured using wood, therefore we are having challenges of deforestation and we are using coal as energy so we were happy to know that you in Iran you use electricity and gas in terms of curing tobacco. This will help us reduce carbon footprint. So, there is an opportunity for contract farming with our farmers so that they can also benefit,” she said.
The same issues were tackled by Mrs Mantissa Mazoyo from the same ministry under the department of Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation and Rural Development.

She emphasised that Zimbabwe had challenges in terms of machinery and would want assistance from its counterparts in Iran.

“In the area of equipment involved in tobacco we appreciate that you have highlighted that you are able to supply us with the equipment. As a country we are in short of agricultural equipment that’s why some of our production is getting lower. With collaborations and joint ventures with Iran, getting equipment from here will be a boost to our production of tobacco. This co-operation in terms of equipment supply will help so much in the production of tobacco.

“Also, during our tour around this industry, we have also noted that women are so much involved in tobacco processing and in the production. In Zimbabwe, women are also involved. It is an opportunity for us to have our women equipped through capacity building and also the provision of suitable equipment which will allow our women to have better efficiency in the tobacco industry. Small-scale to medium-scale farmers need appropriate mechanisations for their operations.

The equipment we have right now is mostly catering for the large-scale farmers so it will be ideal for us to co-operate in terms of provision of appropriate mechanisation for the smallholder farmers. It will be good for us to have a range of the sizes of equipment so that it will cater for the different needs of the different sectors of the farmers.

There is a challenge in terms of the drying and curing of this tobacco so co-operation in the area of the drying equipment will be ideal and also setting a processing industry in Zimbabwe will also allow our women, our youth to have employment which is so ideal for us. This co-operation will allow us to go further as a country and also in our collaboration. We have abundance of surface water so we have great potential for irrigation.

There is also need for us to collaborate in terms of irrigation equipment. The supply of irrigation equipment to the country through joint ventures with some commercial farmers and other Government sectors which are into farming,” she said.

Dr Gharesheikh thanked the two for their presentations and promised to follow up with Zimbabwe for co-operation.

“We are happy to provide the people of Zimbabwe with whatever they want for the co-operation to be a success. We are willing to provide irrigation equipment as you highlighted, curing equipment, processing equipment, fertiliser suitable for the intended tobacco, tractors and implements. We are also willing to provide technical expertise and back-up for capacity building.

Women play an important role in the tobacco industry and we will be happy to work with the women of Zimbabwe. We will provide you with all the information highlighting the plan for the next five years,” he said.