Story by Davison Vandira, Business Reporter
Zimbabwe has added shisha to its basket of cash crops with the first bale going under the hammer this Thursday where a kilogramme of the crop averaged US$4.00.
The addition of Shisha as a cash crop in Zimbabwe is part of the Agriculture Transformation and Growth Strategy which is targeting an US$8 billion agriculture sector.
Shisha, like its sister crop tobacco, will enhance the country’s foreign currency generation capacity as the prices are firmer owing to its international demand which has been soaring over the years.
The growing, marketing and regulation of Shisha is under the armbit of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). The board is upbeat about the potential growth of the cash crop in Zimbabwe’s agricultural industry.
“This is an exciting development for Zimbabwe in that the coming on board of Shisha will broaden the scope for farmers in choosing which cash crops can bring them value and above. All this will enhance our agricultural systems in its quest to build a resilient and lucrative sector,” said TIMB Acting chief executive officer, Mr Emmanuel Matsvaire.
The agriculture industry and the mining sectors continue to be the economy’s torchbearers in implementing green-field projects as the country targets to achieve an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
