Tea farming in Zimbabwe

Growing conditions and growing area

• A perennial tree crop grown more on plantation than by individual commercial farmers.
• A region 1 crop in Zimbabwe.
• High rainfall, over 1 000 mm, cool temperature, around 18°C but must be frost-free.
• Grown on mountain slopes with well-drained soils.
• Soils must be acidic.
• Cutting from high-yielding clones planted in nurseries under shade.
• Young plants covered by polythene.
• 18 months later, the young plants are transferred to the fields with 11 000 plants to a hectare.
• Pruning must occur as the plants grow to maintain a one metre-height bush easy to pluck.
• Weeding clears the fields of unnecessary nutrient competitors.
• Plucking is done of two fresh leaves and a bud.

Processing and marketing

• The tea is processed on the farm hence factories are located here.
• Tea is perishable as it loses quality quickly, if not processed immediately after picking.
• It is withering in the factory to remove moisture in a controlled way.
• Then the tea is fermented until it is brownish black.
• It is then fired to dry it.
• Grading and tasting come next.
• Then the tea is packed in foiled packets or in chests, ready for marketing.
• The tea is sold on the home market in shops or overseas to consumers in the UK, Germany, USA and Italy.

Problems

• In the Eastern Highlands, one problem has been that of frost destroyeing the bushes in winter.
• Heavy rains cause waterlogging which kills the tea bushes.
• Cyclones destroy the trees through powerful winds which uproot the bushes.
• Drought at times occurs leading to death of the trees through water shortages.
• The local market is small and poor.
• The quality of the tea is not comparable to that from India and Sri Lanka.

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