Uganda: Explaining Tobacco Growing

Source from:  The Monitor (Kampala) 14 July 2007 07/16/2007

I respond to Ms. Nabusayi Wamboka's article "Tobacco smokes life out of West Nile peasants" that featured in the press on June 11, the same article produced in Daily Monitor with a cover photograph of people picking tea and not tobacco and another one in response to Mr John Nagenda's column in the New Vision of July 12. These articles quote the Vice President's disapproval of tobacco growing by farmers of West Nile, and attributes poverty and food insecurity to the same crop. As a responsible corporate citizen of Uganda involved in agribusiness for the last 80 years, BATU as sponsors to tobacco growers has always addressed the concerns of the industry stakeholders. They remain conscious of the fact that theirs is a controversial product. At the same time I am aware that tobacco growing and manufacture are legal in this country and substantially contribute to the government coffers and the welfare of our farmers currently numbering 47,000. I therefore expect a courteous gesture from people who wish to express their opinion about the growing of tobacco by cross-checking with both parties about some basic facts. It would be sensible to assume that the Vice President does not know everything and it is therefore incumbent upon his advisors to give him the correct information about activities of a high profile industry like tobacco. Being the number two in the country, the population will most likely take him seriously and conclude that it is official government policy to discourage tobacco production because of its alleged affinity to poverty and environmental degradation. Ms Nabusayi made the following statements to which I respond: That tobacco is grown in the old Arua District (Koboko, Yumbe, Madi Okolo and Nebbi) and not Packwach, Adjumani and Moyo; the issue of diversification to other crops like rice and honey production should not be hindered by tobacco production because after tobacco harvest the next crop in the production rotation is grain and; rice would fit in perfectly benefiting from residual fertiliser effect. Honey production on the other hand would be boosted by a unique flavour of nectar from tobacco flowers. The West Nile region tobacco growing area comprises typical savanna grassland with scattered trees supporting a population of over 700,000 people. This population requires shelter and cooked food, both having demand on the few scattered trees. Average household in Uganda uses five cubic metres of wood per family per month for cooking alone (UN Environmental Protection Agency Report, 1988). Assuming an average of five people per family, this region alone uses 8.4 million m3 of wood per annum for cooking. This is equivalent to 933,000 class 3 eucalyptus poles. When BATU introduced Master Tobacco Growers Scheme in West Nile, tree planting was introduced in earnest in 1953. All the eucalyptus trees seen growing in West Nile were introduced by BATU. Rehabilitation and expansion have continued since BATU's return to Uganda in 1984. Standing tree population is over 31 million as per the last tree census carried out by Makerere University Faculty of Forestry in 2002/3. These plantations communally belong to the farmers. Tobacco curing is therefore not responsible for environmental degradation. Our researchers have developed efficient barn furnaces which consume 4 kgs of wood per ton of cured tobacco and further modifications and research is expected to reduce this to 2.5 Kgs/per ton, which is the developed world standard.. Using the amount quoted in the article of 10,000 tons of tobacco production, West Nile used 40,000 kgs of wood equivalent to 4,444 class III eucalyptus poles. It is mainly the tobacco farmers who are involved in communal forest and woodlot development. Out of the population of over one million there are only around 12,000 (1.70%) tobacco farmers who, according to the figure quoted in the article, earned Shs15 billion last year from tobacco alone. Which other competitive crop can match this? Tobacco market is guaranteed to the farmers and indicative prices are declared before seedbed activities begin. This enables the farmers decide whether to grow or not and bonus is paid to the farmers who grow over and above their targets. All our farmers are self sufficient in the food production and therefore secure. There is a band-wagon of un-researched statements that eucalyptus spp. is unfriendly to the environment. A lot of research has been done and a few out of over 600 species are being planted for the farmers use because they are fast growing, yield high calorific value and are able to coppice leaving the farmers the option to retain three more poles per original tree. Enditem