Harare,  (New Ziana)- The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has launched a fire prevention campaign to protect the country’s expanding tree woodlots from veld fires in an initiative that follows after the national launch last month of the 2025 Fire season.

In a statement, acting TIMB chief executive officer Emmanuel Matsvaire said the campaign began on Friday in Mvurwi, Mashonaland Central province, one of the country’s key tobacco-producing regions.

Led by the TIMB Sustainability Unit and Environmental, Social, and Governance officers, the campaign includes practical training sessions on fire preparedness, fuel load assessments, firebreak inspections, and early fire detection strategies.

Matsvaire said the primary goal of the campaign is to reduce the growing threat of veld fires, which endanger the country’s ambitious afforestation efforts.

“Our afforestation gains must be protected if we are to realise a greener and more resilient tobacco industry. Its not enough to plant trees, we must ensure they survive. And that means taking veld fire management seriously,” he said.

The TIMB is also promoting the planting of fast-growing, indigenous, and fruit-bearing trees as part of its broader sustainability efforts.

Matsvaire urged tobacco growers to safeguard their woodlots by maintaining fireguards, clearing dry grass and biomass, and preparing community-based response systems.

“Each woodlot represents not only a source of fuel but an investment in the future of both individual farmers and the nation’s economy. We are not only protecting trees, we are protecting Zimbabwe’s future, one woodlot at a time,” he said.

Tobacco farming in Zimbabwe significantly contributes to deforestation, with estimates indicating that curing the crop accounts for approximately 12 percent to 20 percent of the country’s annual forest loss.

New Ziana