Kenya: Tobacco Bill Amendment to Protect Farmers

Source from:  The Star 04/29/2015

Cigarette manufacturers will be compelled to give tobacco manufacturers protective gears should a proposal by an MP be passed into law.

Suna West MP Joseph Ndiege also wants the government to ensure that agreements on tobacco prices between tobacco growers and manufacturers are based on cost of production and international market indicators.

Ndiege is proposing to amend the Tobacco Control Act to ensure that tobacco farmers are protected from the harmful aspects of tobacco farming.

The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2015 is set to be introduced in the House soon.

Migori County leads in tobacco production with 16,000 tonnes out of 22,000 tonnes of annual national production.

According to statistics by the Migori county government, more than 50,000 farmers in the county have been contracted by different tobacco companies to farm the crop.

Local health officials say many farmers have contracted health problems including the Green Tobacco Sickness, contracted through the extensive handling of wet tobacco leaf.

Its symptoms include extreme muscle weakness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, asthma, boils, breathing difficulties, diarrhoea, fever, and changes in blood pressure and heart rate.

"This is a slow death. The companies don't care about the health of the farmers. All they seem to be focused on is how many tonnes of tobacco we will produce for them," says the MP.

Quoting the 2012 tobacco Atlas, the world's most comprehensive analysis of tobacco-related activities produced by the American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation, Ndiege says at least three per cent of all deaths of men in Kenya every year are triggered by tobacco use.

Health experts say if this trend continues the country will soon have a tobacco epidemic.

"There is conclusive evidence implicating tobacco production, use and exposure to tobacco smoke and tobacco products in the incidences of debilitating illness, disease, disability and death. The proposed amendments is meant to protect the health of farmers," he said.

The draft copy of the Tobacco Control (Amendment ) Bill 2015 is meant to protect small scale farmers against exploitation by manufacturers and investors.

The Bill also seeks to ensure the tobacco growers are represented on the Tobacco Control Board while at the same preventing market segmentation or zoning by the manufacturers.

The MP seeks to amend section 3 of the Act to establish auction floors where international buyers can purchase tobacco competitively and also promote the use of certified tobacco varieties.

He also proposing to amend section 4 of the Act to ensure there will be no segmentation or zoning of the growing areas.

He further wants Section 5 amended to pave way for the way for tobacco growers representatives to sit on the Tobacco control Board.

And should the House agree with the MP, then an amendment to section 6 of the Act will see tobacco growers earn the legal right to join an association or cooperative society of their choice. Enditem