FCTC Policies Threaten Growers in Africa

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 06/27/2012

Francois van der Merwe, chairman of the International Tobacco Growers Association's (ITGA) Africa Region, has again reacted to proposals by international regulators that would restrict and eventually prevent farmers in Africa from producing tobacco, according to an AllAfrica.com story. "The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is going into the soft underbelly of the value chain," said van der Merwe. "They're going into farmers and want to forcefully remove them and prevent them from growing tobacco." He said the current FCTC's proposals would prevent government and industry programs and policies that supported tobacco growing, restrict the amount of land on which tobacco could be grown, and reduce tobacco production across the globe. The original mandate of the FCTC was to assist tobacco farmers with converting to alternative crops as the demand for tobacco decreased. "We support the FCTC's objectives of reducing tobacco consumption globally, but that is not what is happening," van der Merwe added. "Tobacco consumption is very stable, so it is unfair that farmers are being targeted by these latest proposals." Van der Merwe spoke out also at the end of May following a two-day ITGA Africa Region meeting that issued a declaration opposing the proposals. Enditem