Bangladesh: Farmers Find Tobacco Growing Financially More Rewarding

Source from:  Financial Express (bd)  10/22/2012

Notwithstanding controversies surrounding the tobacco cultivation, farmers in Bangladesh find it to be financially more rewarding than other crops, according to a report published recently by the Policy Research Institute (PRI). The average earning of tobacco farmers is around 30 per cent higher than non-tobacco farmers, the report claimed on the basis of field-level survey. Tobacco has turned into a prime cash crop in a number of areas such as Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari, specially helping the poor during the 'monga' period, the report noted. Nielsen Bangladesh collected and compiled the field level primary data from the tobacco cultivating regions of Rangpur, Kushtia and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Survey covered farmers who are cultivating tobacco and also farmers growing crops other than tobacco. The PRI report said export quality tobacco cultivation has generated employment for thousands of farmers/ farm labourers in the tobacco growing areas. Furthermore, another 100,000 jobs may have been created in tobacco export-related activities, it said. The positive gains from tobacco cultivation have been also reflected in the growth of raw tobacco exports from Bangladesh. In the fiscal 2009-10, the tobacco export proceeds amounted to more than $50 million and the amount increased to more than $80 million in the next fiscal (2010-11). However, imposition of 10 per cent duty on the export of tobacco in the FY11 budget has impacted negatively the country's tobacco export. The global blue chip tobacco companies are in the process of removing Bangladesh from their list of supply chain due to frequent policy changes. Thus, the PRI report said, tobacco, the second most important agricultural export after jute, may even disappear from the Bangladesh's export basket. The report explaining the farmers' preference to tobacco cultivation over other crops said the farmers in the areas mentioned above cultivate tobacco because the crop generates profits higher than other crops and they get the cash at one-go under buyback guarantee offered by tobacco companies. Besides, more than two-third tobacco farmers reported that tobacco did not compete with the production of other food crops. The incidence of poverty, the filed survey revealed, is much higher (47.5 per cent) among the non-tobacco farmers than the tobacco farmers (29.25 per cent). Contrary to widespread allegation of health hazard involving the cultivation of tobacco, about 89 per cent respondents covering both tobacco and non-tobacco farmers reported that tobacco cultivation and green leaf handling do not cause any disease. However, the report said more research is needed to understand why a section of tobacco growers suffer from skin disease and respiratory problems. Enditem