India: ''Cashew appropriate alternative to tobacco''

Source from:  The Hindu‎ 10/12/2015

Can cashew crop an appropriate alternative to tobacco? The answer, according to horticulture expert, A.B. Patil, who is engaged in extension activities, is yes. In the present context, the crop can be a morale booster to farmers in rain-dependent land, he said, at a programme on promoting cashew cultivation at the College of Horticulture here recently.

Especially in Mysuru which is one of the largest producers of tobacco in the State, the crop can emerge as an ideal alternative to tobacco, he suggested.

By 2020, India has to reduce tobacco cultivation as it is a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and therefore it is under obligation to bring down the production. India is among the 150 countries that are signatories to the FCTC, sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Anti-tobacco activists have urging tobacco farmers to switch over to other crops.

Tobacco is cultivated in about 1 lakh hectares in Mysuru district by over 45,000 farmers. At least, 80 per cent of the tobacco grown in Mysuru is exported. An average price for 1 kg of tobacco in Mysuru market is around Rs. 130 and the average yield per acre is around 600 to 700 kg.

More than 1 lakh small and marginal farmers in Mysuru, Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts are dependent on Flue Cured Virginia Tobacco (FCV) crop for their livelihood. Apart from farm families, over 4 lakh farm workers are depending on the crop. Enditem