More Zimbabwe farmers are now venturing into the newly introduced shisha tobacco farming as the crops’ varieties are desired by the producers of tobacco products for shisha pipes.
Shisha smoking is done through mixing shisha tobacco with water filtering, and has extra flavours added than the traditional cigarettes. The product is generally air-cured with thinner leaves than the varieties that are flue-cured.
This has created excitement in Zimbabwe with more farmers this year making their shisha tobacco’s grand entrance into the 2023 tobacco marketing season.
The tobacco selling season in the country started last month and the sole licenced contractor for shisha tobacco is Cavendish Lloyd Zimbabwe is the licence by the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB).
The company said growing the crop was cost effective compared to traditional tobacco flue-cured varieties, such as Virginia as it does not require fertiliser topping and less fertiliser
Cavendish Lloyd Zimbabwe agronomist, Josh Makwenje said the shisha crop was a flue-cured tobacco produced under agronomic practices designed to influence nicotine and sugar levels.
“Cavendish is the only company licenced by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) to grow shisha, as well as contract farmers to produce it. Shisha is also a flue-cured tobacco but does not belong to the Kutsaga Research Board basket of seeds. It is imported and has its own characteristics,” he said.
Makwenje added that the major difference between the normally grown flue-cured, oriental and burley tobacco varieties and shisha was low nicotine content and high sugar levels.
The nicotine is supposed to be below one percent and the sugars above 25 percent unlike with the flue-cured tobacco genres that have nicotine levels of between three and three and half plus six sugar levels.
“Unlike when growing normal tobacco, we put 15 000 plants per hectare but with shisha we double this to promote competition for nutrients to reduce nicotine levels. The other difference is in fertiliser applications with farmers using up to 100 units for other tobacco varieties while 37. 5 units are recommended for shisha. All this it aimed at reducing nicotine levels in the leaf,” Makwenje said.
He added fertiliser was applied at planting and top-dressed three weeks after with the total amount adding up to 37.5 units with focus now shifting to improving that quality of the leaf through frequent spraying.
“There is no topping – the removal of the apical bud at 16 and 18 leaves – in shisha, which means the plant does not develop suckers. It is left to flower in order to reduce the nicotine in the plant.
“The plant develops 25 to 30 leaves that are all reaped with no concern on their sizes.”
Makwenje continued that a farmer needed to have enough barn capacity to handle all the reapings, as one hectare of shisha produces yield volumes equivalent to those from two hectares of normal tobacco.
Curing is done over five to six days to maintain quality with grading and baling following after that. Shisha requires less handling of its loose leaves to avoid colour change with the pale white colour being more preferred to orange. Spots on the thin leaf are not tolerated.
“Shisha is bought on the degree of spot prevalence with high prices being fetched by the less spotted, thin, and whitish and clean leaves. This season’s highest shisha price has so far been US$5.45 per kilogramme,” he said.
Makwenje said from their three years of producing the crop, they have realised that it does well in tobacco growing areas of Marondera and Macheke both in Mashonaland East Province.
This selling season, farmers have sold 263 bales worth US$97.9 million at an average price of US$4.40 per kg and the highest price at US$5.40 per kg.
Some farmers say that they will increase their hectarage next season based on the positive sales so far this season.
“I recommend farmers to grow this type of tobacco; no curing using firewood. Hence it is cheap to cure. Farmers need to maximize production since air is the major source of the drying energy. Shisha tobacco production is a welcome development,” Victor Mariranyika, president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust, said.
However, special handling of shisha tobacco is required.
“The tobacco needs very special attention because the plant or the leaf is very thin, so if you don’t carefully handle it, the leaf itself breaks. I have delivered 15 bales, and if everything goes well, I will increase hectarage,” Jayson Scott, a Marondera farmer said.
This season has been a chance to learn and develop a better shisha crop, according to Chelesani Tsarwe, a TIMB public affairs officer.
She said the target is to expand shisha production in slow-growing areas and to encourage more growers to produce shisha as it presents better opportunities.
“Desirable shisha tobacco should have a clean leaf, but the produce from fast-growing regions tends to have spots,” Tsarwe said. “Growers in these areas should take agronomic advice seriously in order to improve leaf quality and fetch better prices. Good agronomic practices are key to quality and better productivity,” Tsarwe said.
By Staff Reporter
More Zimbabwe farmers are now venturing into the newly introduced shisha tobacco farming as the crops’ varieties are desired by the producers of tobacco products for shisha pipes.
Shisha smoking is done through mixing shisha tobacco with water filtering, and has extra flavours added than the traditional cigarettes. The product is generally air-cured with thinner leaves than the varieties that are flue-cured.
This has created excitement in Zimbabwe with more farmers this year making their shisha tobacco’s grand entrance into the 2023 tobacco marketing season.
The tobacco selling season in the country started last month and the sole licenced contractor for shisha tobacco is Cavendish Lloyd Zimbabwe is the licence by the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB).
The company said growing the crop was cost effective compared to traditional tobacco flue-cured varieties, such as Virginia as it does not require fertiliser topping and less fertiliser
Cavendish Lloyd Zimbabwe agronomist, Josh Makwenje said the shisha crop was a flue-cured tobacco produced under agronomic practices designed to influence nicotine and sugar levels.
“Cavendish is the only company licenced by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) to grow shisha, as well as contract farmers to produce it. Shisha is also a flue-cured tobacco but does not belong to the Kutsaga Research Board basket of seeds. It is imported and has its own characteristics,” he said.
Makwenje added that the major difference between the normally grown flue-cured, oriental and burley tobacco varieties and shisha was low nicotine content and high sugar levels.
The nicotine is supposed to be below one percent and the sugars above 25 percent unlike with the flue-cured tobacco genres that have nicotine levels of between three and three and half plus six sugar levels.
“Unlike when growing normal tobacco, we put 15 000 plants per hectare but with shisha we double this to promote competition for nutrients to reduce nicotine levels. The other difference is in fertiliser applications with farmers using up to 100 units for other tobacco varieties while 37. 5 units are recommended for shisha. All this it aimed at reducing nicotine levels in the leaf,” Makwenje said.
He added fertiliser was applied at planting and top-dressed three weeks after with the total amount adding up to 37.5 units with focus now shifting to improving that quality of the leaf through frequent spraying.
“There is no topping – the removal of the apical bud at 16 and 18 leaves – in shisha, which means the plant does not develop suckers. It is left to flower in order to reduce the nicotine in the plant.
“The plant develops 25 to 30 leaves that are all reaped with no concern on their sizes.”
Makwenje continued that a farmer needed to have enough barn capacity to handle all the reapings, as one hectare of shisha produces yield volumes equivalent to those from two hectares of normal tobacco.
Curing is done over five to six days to maintain quality with grading and baling following after that. Shisha requires less handling of its loose leaves to avoid colour change with the pale white colour being more preferred to orange. Spots on the thin leaf are not tolerated.
“Shisha is bought on the degree of spot prevalence with high prices being fetched by the less spotted, thin, and whitish and clean leaves. This season’s highest shisha price has so far been US$5.45 per kilogramme,” he said.
Makwenje said from their three years of producing the crop, they have realised that it does well in tobacco growing areas of Marondera and Macheke both in Mashonaland East Province.
This selling season, farmers have sold 263 bales worth US$97.9 million at an average price of US$4.40 per kg and the highest price at US$5.40 per kg.
Some farmers say that they will increase their hectarage next season based on the positive sales so far this season.
“I recommend farmers to grow this type of tobacco; no curing using firewood. Hence it is cheap to cure. Farmers need to maximize production since air is the major source of the drying energy. Shisha tobacco production is a welcome development,” Victor Mariranyika, president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust, said.
However, special handling of shisha tobacco is required.
“The tobacco needs very special attention because the plant or the leaf is very thin, so if you don’t carefully handle it, the leaf itself breaks. I have delivered 15 bales, and if everything goes well, I will increase hectarage,” Jayson Scott, a Marondera farmer said.
This season has been a chance to learn and develop a better shisha crop, according to Chelesani Tsarwe, a TIMB public affairs officer.
She said the target is to expand shisha production in slow-growing areas and to encourage more growers to produce shisha as it presents better opportunities.
“Desirable shisha tobacco should have a clean leaf, but the produce from fast-growing regions tends to have spots,” Tsarwe said. “Growers in these areas should take agronomic advice seriously in order to improve leaf quality and fetch better prices. Good agronomic practices are key to quality and better productivity,” Tsarwe said.
