Unlike cigarettes, shisha tobacco is consumed using a hookah or water pipe.
Shisha tobacco is proving to be popular in Zimbabwe. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has licensed one company, Cavendish Lloyd Tobacco, to support shisha production in the country.
There was a hive of activity at TSF where farmers from different parts of Zimbabwe were selling Shisha tobacco for the very first time in the country’s history. On the 21st of April, the first bale fetched US$5 and the highest price was US$5,30.Yesterday, the first bale fetched US$5 and the highest price was US$5,30.
“It is easier to grow compared to flue-cured tobacco. It requires less fertilizer than flue-cured tobacco. We are too specific about climate because in fast-growing areas there is a tendency of spreading diseases but in smaller growing areas it becomes clean” said another farmer.
According to some sources “Teams at TIMB, said they are expecting about 100 hectares for Shisha production this season and markets are readily available in Africa.”, they said they are expecting about 100 hectares for Shisha production this season and markets are readily available in Africa.
Chemical applications for pest and insect control and growth period are just the same as other tobacco cultivars such as Virginia tobacco. The crop is reaped when the leaves have completely lost all the nitrogen and have fully ripened. It is cured using the same flue-curing barns, temperature, and humidity regimes for the Virginia flue-cured tobacco and it takes four to five days to complete curing.
The cured leaf has to have low nicotine content to protect the smoker from inhaling huge amounts of nicotine since Shisha tobacco is about constant smoke inhalation in huge quantities.
An increase in demand for shisha across the globe can open up an opportunity for income generation for farmers. Considering that it still is a niche market and requires less more effort indifference to the traditional tobacco it might be the an advantage to farmers who are looking for a better harvest in the tobacco industry.
