Tobacco is an obvious successful cash crop opportunity when talking about Investing in Zimbabwe’s farming industry. However, I know you didn’t come here to listen to the obvious rhetoric. There is an old saying which says, during a gold rush, the man who makes the shovels and picks makes all the money. I passed by the auction floors one day to see if this old principle applies to Zimbabwe tobacco farming. With tobacco farmers recently increasing exponentially each season, businesses of all types are realizing they have a big opportunity to monetize their efforts as evidenced by their presence at the auctions in Harare.

But before we look at some ways to actually drive revenue from Zimbabwe tobacco farming, it is important to understand that Tobacco sales floors are not your traditional marketing channel like the Agricultural show and should not be used as a direct marketing tactic. The hundreds of farmers have come not to share their personal farming stories through showcasing their farm produce or to buy products. They have come to convert the months of intensive labor to gold and their sweat to silver. They have come to convert the gold leaf into actual gold. They have come to make money. That being said, utilizing the auction floors as a sales channel is not a bad thing but should be handled carefully, like meeting a neighbor’s dog for the first time — approach with respect or risk being bitten. Aggressive behavior does not pay off.

The greatest challenge in setting up a tobacco auction floor based venture is tsotsis (conmen) who have put a large “don’t buy at the auction” billboard in the eyes of farmers. Stories of farmers appearing in the press after being corned are rife. There is need to regain the trust of farmers at the auctions and this can be done by creating an interesting and compelling brand that differentiates the business from the conmen.

I took a few pictures of the auctions to help you brain storm. Farming inputs including Irrigation equipment were all over. A couple of farmers were asking for water pumps too. It’s not only farming machinery that is making huge bucks at the auctions. A casual talk with one lady who sales Sadza told me her sales average 100 plates a day. Just do the math and see if it’s an opportunity for you.

The ideas people make money with at the auctions are usually not out of the ordinary but rather the simple things we all take for granted. Three years ago, a gentleman told me how he made good money by selling hats. The temperatures were high and people needed to shield their heads from the scotching sun. You don’t need to be a tobacco farmer in Zimbabwe to enjoy tobacco money. All you need to do is be involved in Tobacco.

If you can come up with a product that can add value to a tobacco farmer during or after the auction, then you are bound to win the race. My advice is put on your thinking hat now and plan for next year Zimbabwe tobacco auction. Don’t rush it. Little by little and you will get there. There may be a few changes in the Tobacco market next year but mostly on the farming side. In the end, it’s all about making social connections with your target audience. It is the entrepreneur who does this who will enjoy this booming money making opportunity in Zimbabwe. If you are to spend one day only at the tobacco auction floors, you will definitely have a share from the more than one thousand ways to make money in Zimbabwe at the auctions. And as always…

To your continued success