Steps Initiated to Check Tobacco Crop Cultivation

Source from:  Business Standard (in) 11/13/2008

The Tobacco Board has initiated measures to reduce the cultivation of tobacco and in turn, tobacco production. Government of India, one of the 168 signatories to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), is obligated to cut the production of tobacco and tobacco products, including gutkha by 2020. The WHO FCTC, developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco epidemic, has calls on the signatory countries to take measures to curb global marketing of tobacco and tobacco products, advertising, promotion and sponsorship, movement of contraband and counterfeit cigarettes by price and tax measures and non-price measures to reduce the demand for tobacco. Under the treaty, the Tobacco Board has initiated the process of discouraging farmers from growing tobacco to achieve the FCTC objectives. Apart from offering a compensation package if they surrendered their tobacco cultivation licence, as part of the rehabilitation measures, the board provides assistance to them to shift to alternative commercial crops. The area under cultivation in Karnataka, a leading tobacco producer, is about 220,000 acres and this should be brought down to about 100,000 acres by 2020. Appealing to tobacco growers in the state to take to alternative commercial crops from the coming season, Union minister of state for commerce and industry Jairam Ramesh said the board had taken up a pilot programme in Shimoga, where farmers growing tobacco on an estimated 1,700 acres had offered to surrender their cultivation licence. Such farmers would be paid a compensation of Rs 2.5 crore for single barn and Rs 5 lakh for double barn licence. The minister, who was inaugurating the electronic auction system at Hunsur, near Mysore, said e-auction were introduced in Andhra Pradesh, another leading tobacco producer. E-auction will fetch farmers 5-10 per cent more, while it will check corruption. E-auction will be extended to all platforms next year. Highlighting the possible alternative use of tobacco like medicinal purposes, he said scientists working on this had made certain proposals and they were being examined. The board will promote such efforts, he said. The Tobacco Research Institute in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, was carrying out research on extraction of oil from tobacco, he added The board, Ramesh said, would set up a Tobacco Growers' Welfare Fund shortly. It will collect Rs 1,000 from each cultivator and contribute Rs 2,000 as its share towards the fund about Rs 15 crore. The fund, to be used exclusively for the welfare of the tobacco growers in Karnataka, would be utilised for providing health and social security to the farmers, apart from irrigation facilities. The Union minister said he had requested the Union Ministry of Finance and Chemical Fertilisers to enhance the subsidy for fertiliser used by the tobacco cultivators. He indicated that the cost of the manure might fall further. The Centre was committed to ensuring price stability for tobacco, he assured. Enditem