OPINION: The Alternatives for Tobacco Farmers

Source from:  nst.com.my 2008/03/12 03/12/2008

When the Asean Free Trade Area takes effect in 2010, Malaysia will have to reduce duties on tobacco imports. Local growers, who are less competitive, compared with neighbouring countries may have to explore alternative crops or seek new uses for the crop, says AHMAD IBRAHIM OVER the years, the world tobacco industry has had its fair share of controversies. In the United States, for example, many tobacco companies have lost millions in major legal settlements. But this has not stopped them from investing more. This happens despite the advertising ban on cigarettes and the constant anti-smoking campaigns of lobby groups everywhere. Not to mention the mandatory health warnings on their packaging. But such constraints have not deterred the industry's growth. How is it that in spite of all the scientific evidence of tobacco's negative health record, the population of smokers worldwide continues to rise? Somehow, the "kick" from smoking appears to be worth all the associated risks. In Malaysia for many years now, tobacco farming has been the bread-and-butter of many rural households, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu, where tobacco farmers have over the years emerged as a political force to be reckoned with. They are known to have influenced the outcome of elections. In 2004, Malaysia recorded its highest-ever tobacco production at 13 million kg dry. In 2006, this declined to only six million kg dry. Most is flue-cured tobacco, of which China is the largest producer in the world. Brazil is a distant second, with about a quarter of China's production. India, the US and Greece each produces about 12 per cent of China's output. In Malaysia, with the advent of the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta), tobacco farming is expected to decline. Under Afta, Malaysia has to reduce duties on tobacco imports by 2010. This will negatively impact the competitiveness of Malaysian tobacco, where the cost of production -- about RM10 per kilo -- is almost twice that of Thailand's. Indonesia's cost is even lower. The average price of cured tobacco is now RM13-14 per kilo. This is still profitable. With Afta, the price may come down to RM7-8 per kilo. Hence, the government's recent decision to maintain the price at RM14 per kilo at least till 2010 was welcomed by tobacco farmers. What happens after 2010 concerns not only farmers but the government. That will be when the full effects of Afta will be felt. The government has in recent years put in place programmes to wean farmers away from tobacco and into alternative commercial crops. Kenaf is one option. Under the recently launched East Coast Economic Region (ECER), the target area for kenaf is about 10,000ha. This is expected to increase the income of 10,000 marginal tobacco farmers and create more jobs. But the market for kenaf is still uncertain. One potential product outlet is natural fibre for insulation. Another is as composite material for the automotive industry. The question is, will farmers enjoy the same if not a better income than from growing tobacco? Another possible crop is jatropha. Unlike kenaf, where the market prospects are still uncertain, jatropha has potential as biofuel. Jatropha, being a non-edible oil, is a viable candidate to replace palm oil as a base material for biodiesel. However, much research is still needed if jatropha is to match the consistency and yield of oil palm. Lately, yet another option has emerged: "molecular farming". Essentially, this involves producing new compounds from tobacco through the genetic engineering of the tobacco plant. The new compounds can include pharmaceutical products such medical drugs, vaccines or antibodies. This is starting to enter the commercial phase in the West. As tobacco is among the easiest plants to transform genetically, it is emerging as a popular commercial crop to achieve what some call "molecular pharming". Unlike kenaf and jatropha, the market for pharmaceuticals is more or less assured. This is because the tobacco plant is genetically engineered to produce medicines and vaccines that are already being used in the marketplace. What is needed is to develop an economically high-yielding transformed tobacco plant designed to produce vaccines for the regional market. This is not difficult. In the European Union, molecular pharming through tobacco is on the verge of commercial reality. There are many reasons for this sudden interest in plant-based pharmaceuticals. So far, commercial production of clinical-grade pharmaceuticals has relied on two major production routes: microbial cells or animal cells. Both use fermentation and are, therefore, expensive to build and operate. There is also concern that animal cells can harbour human disease-carrying microbes. Factor in the growing demand for halal vaccines, and a plant-based production system immediately becomes attractive. This is also the reason why the plant-based production platform has attracted strong corporate interest from companies involved in pharmaceuticals as well as agrotechnology. Tobacco is a prime contender in this field. Tobacco has a well-established technology for gene transfer and expression, and offers potentially high biomass yield per hectare. There is available large-scale infrastructure for processing that does not come into contact with the human and animal food chains. Most of all, tobacco farmers can continue to grow the crop for which they have amassed many years of experience and expertise. Malaysia should seriously consider investing in molecular pharming with tobacco. It fits with the expansion of the knowledge and innovation economy, and with the ECER's high-impact agrotech projects. Enditem