From the field to the market
Contract farming for tobacco and sesame: inputs, agronomy, transport and a ready market for your crop.
Inputs that start the season right
Farm inputs are critical to the whole farming system. We supply our tobacco and sesame growers with a complete inputs combo, our “land pack”, so they can grow a crop that earns real revenue from their farming business.
- Seed packs for tobacco and sesame
- Fertilisers and chemicals in one land pack
- Inputs handed out at local disbursement points
- Growers tracked on our Grower Management System
Advice from people who know tobacco
Our field team is experienced in the tobacco farming industry and works across all of Zimbabwe’s tobacco growing regions. They visit growers throughout the season and help them produce a crop that meets market standards.
- Seedbed management, including clipping
- Regular field visits during the season
- Guidance on curing, grading and tying hands
- Baling to standard dimensions for the floors
From the farm to our floors
We bought 7 million kg of flue-cured Virginia tobacco in the 2024–25 season.
Our own fleet
A fleet of trucks ferries tobacco from the growing areas to our buying floors, and sesame to centralised collection points.
Three buying floors
Sell your crop at our tobacco buying floors in Harare, Rusape and Karoi.
Market-ready bales
Standard 86 × 61 × 61 cm bales make receiving, checking and dispatching faster on the floor.
A climate-friendly crop for our growers
Alongside tobacco, we contract climate-friendly small grain crops, in particular sesame. Our sesame growers receive the same inputs combo and field support as our tobacco growers, and their crop goes to an established market.
Sesame at a glance
- 2,000 sponsored sesame growers
- About 200,000 kg of seed bought in 2024–25
- Over 400 tonnes exported in the 2024 and 2025 seasons
- An established market in Beira, Mozambique
A ready market for your crop
Our growers sell with confidence because we have buyers lined up for both tobacco and sesame.
Tobacco merchants
A ready market for our tobacco from major merchants, including Tianze and Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco (ZLT).
International buyers
Established markets for processed tobacco in South Africa, Turkey and China, and for sesame in Beira, Mozambique.
New markets
We are opening up new markets for tobacco and sesame in countries such as Turkey, China and Saudi Arabia.
Common questions
What does a Leafyard contract include?
An inputs combo (seed packs, fertilisers and chemicals), agronomic support from our field team throughout the season, and transport of your crop to our buying floors.
Where can I sell my tobacco?
At our tobacco buying floors in Harare, Rusape and Karoi. Our trucks can ferry your crop from the growing area to the floor.
Do you contract crops other than tobacco?
Yes. We run a sesame contract farming scheme with over 2,000 sponsored growers, and sesame is collected at centralised collection points.
How do I become a Leafyard grower?
Send us a message through our contact page or speak to a Leafyard field officer in your area, and we will take you through the next steps.
Grow with Leafyard this season
Talk to us about a tobacco or sesame contract, farm inputs, or selling your crop at our Harare, Rusape and Karoi floors.