Kenya: It's All Joy for Tobacco Farmers

Source from:  The Nation 02/10/2010

Tobacco farmers from Migori, Kuria East and Kuria West districts continue with their lavish lifestyle as their payouts were boosted by more than Sh30 million this week. The leaf-buying companies are paying them daily through local banks. Long queues have become the order of the day in local banking halls as the growers receive their payments from BAT Kenya, Alliance One Tobacco and Mastermind companies. Staff at the Migori Postbank on Monday said they were paying up to 500 farmers a day. The lifestyle of the farmers in the region has changed since they started receiving payments last month, with some marrying additional wives and others living in bars and hotels for several days as they make merry. Commercial sex workers from as far as Kisumu, Kericho, Nakuru and Tanzania have descended on the region, targeting the farmers' sudden wealth. Although the three main firms have been organising investment workshops for their 15,000 contracted farmers in the region, the growers seem unwilling to change their lifestyle. Alliance One, a tobacco merchant exporting leaf to Europe and other parts of the world, is paying secondary school fees for bright students of their best performing farmers. This is aimed at motivating other farmers to take the education of their children seriously. "Since the firms are still paying their farmers for deliveries, we plead with them to make wise investment plans to improve their livelihood. "We want our farmers to lead a decent life in order to live longer and to continue being productive to the country's economy," said Mr Raphael Otaalo, a manager with Alliance One. Tobacco is the main cash crop in the region, where poverty levels are alarmingly low. Some farmers described the tobacco money as "cursed". "We make good plans with our families on what to do with the money before we are paid, but the moment the cash lands in our hands, priorities change and it gets finished without doing anything important," said Mr James Mwita. The 60-year-old farmer has been growing tobacco for the last 10 years. Enditem