Bangladesh: Tobacco Cultivation Going on in Nilphamari

Source from:  Daily Independent (bd) 01/27/2010

Jan 23 : Instead of the cultivation of food grain, tobacco cultivation is going on in full swing as usual in Nilphamari district, creating grave concern among conscious people. It is learnt from sources concerned that the farmers are more interested to grow tobacco than food grain as they earn more profits from cultivating tobacco than from growing food crops, although the present government is trying to dissuade them from cultivating tobacco and to grow more food with a view to coping with increasing food deficit prevailing in the region. According to a survey conducted by a local NGO, tobacco was cultivated on 20,280 hectares of land under all the six upazilas of the district in 2005, on 38,890 hectares of land in 2006, on 41,340 hectares of land in 2006, on 41,340 hectares of land in 2007 and on 40,340 hectares of land in 2008. The sources disclosed that this year tobacco may be cultivated on more than 45,000 hectares of land in the entire district. Besides, no punitive measure is taken against the greedy people financing tobacco cultivation. Therefore, tobacco cultivation in the district as well as the neighbouring ones is alarmingly on the rise posing a massive threat to the nation's health. When asked, some farmers of Domar and Sadar upazilas said that they are unable to stop tobacco farming in spite of the government's discouragement because they earn a lot by cultivating tobacco. Deputy Director of District Agriculture Extension Department told this correspondent that their all-out efforts to discourage the farmers to cultivate tobacco fall flat due to higher prices of tobacco in comparison to the prices of other crops. The conscious people of the district are of the view that the government should enact a law banning tobacco cultivation with due enforcement of the law to stop tobacco farming in the greater interest of the nation. Enditem