By Dickson Bandera
The 2025 Zimbabwe Tobacco Industry Awards held in Harare Friday night celebrated outstanding performance, innovation, and leadership across the nation’s multi-billion-dollar tobacco value chain, with Swan Valley Group emerging as one of the key winners.
Zimbabwe is celebrating a historic milestone in tobacco production, having achieved record targets that brought in $1.2 billion for the first time in the country’s history.
The prestigious awards, which recognise excellence from farm to factory, saw Swan Valley Group scoop the Value Addition Excellence Award (Indigenous Enterprise) for its exceptional achievements in processing, manufacturing, and enhancing the market value of raw tobacco.
The accolade places Swan Valley Group among the leading local firms driving Zimbabwe’s tobacco beneficiation agenda — a critical pillar of the country’s Vision 2030 strategy for industrialisation and economic empowerment.
The event, themed “Sustaining Growth Through Innovation and Value Creation,” brought together senior government officials, tobacco industry executives, farmers, financiers, and international partners.
It underscored the centrality of tobacco to Zimbabwe’s agricultural exports, which continue to contribute significantly to national revenue.
Other notable winners included Denford Mutwiwa, named Commercial Tobacco Farmer of the Year 2025 for his superior productivity and adoption of sustainable practices, while Nemrod Gochamahove walked away with the Smallholder Tobacco Farmer of the Year award.
Monica Chinamasa received the Women’s Agricultural Leadership Award, while Ordripha Zishiri was honoured as the Young Agricultural Farmer of the Year (Under 40).
In the sustainability category, the Environmental Stewardship Champion award went to the Tobacco Leaf Exporters Association Zimbabwe for exemplary commitment to ethical and environmentally responsible practices.
Among corporate winners, BAT Zimbabwe clinched the Value Addition Excellence (Multinational Enterprise) award, while Roc Systems earned recognition for Best Innovation in Curing Technology. Cut Rag Processors took the Product and Market Diversification Award for successfully expanding into new markets.
On the commercial front, Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco was named Tobacco Exporter of the Year, while Atlas Agri won Emerging Exporter of the Year. AFC Holdings was crowned Best Financier in the Tobacco Sector, and Shasha Tobacco won Best Indigenous Tobacco Merchant.
Curverid Tobacco (Pvt) Ltd received the Outstanding Contractor Award for its reliable farmer support services, while Kutsaga Research was honoured for Outstanding Research and Development, and Blackfordby College of Agriculture received the Industry Capacity Building Award.
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Hon. Dr. Anxious Jongwe Masuka was honoured withthe Lifetime Achievement Award for his enduring contribution and transformative leadership in the tobacco sector.
TianZe Tobacco Company received the Chairman and CEO’s Award for Sector Leadership, and Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars took home the Cultural Heritage & Brand Legacy Award for integrating Zimbabwe’s cultural identity into its premium cigar brand.
The Zimbabwe Tobacco Industry Awards continue to stand as the foremost platform recognising excellence, sustainability, and innovation — celebrating individuals and organisations shaping the future of one of the nation’s most vital economic sectors.
