The advent of climate change has brought about a need for tobacco varieties capable of adapting to marginal climatic conditions. Also, the perceived profitability of the tobacco enterprise by small scale growers in Zimbabwe has led to a staggering increase in the number of tobacco farmers, with the consequence that tobacco is now cultivated in marginal and non-traditional regions. These regions receive significantly lower rainfall, which is often poorly distributed and also experience consistently higher seasonal temperatures compared to traditional growing regions. An ideotype of varieties to ameliorate such debilitating challenges is fast growing to escape drought, capable of producing acceptable yields, multi disease resistant particularly to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne javanica) and tobacco mosaic virus. Such an ideotype variety would be capable of quick growth and development that would allow it to accumulate biomass relatively quickly before the full effects of drought conditions limit productivity. A breeding programme was, therefore, designed which generated 12 experimental tobacco hybrids that were subjected to two years of full agronomic testing in a very marginal flue-cured tobacco production area (Makoholi Research Station, Masvingo, Zimbabwe). Results of the trial will be presented and discussed. The economic implications of deploying short season tobacco varieties to farmers and contracting merchants will also be highlighted.