Alternative Crop Must Be "Sustainable Equivalent" To Tobacco

Source from:  KOTA BAHARU, Sept 14 (Bernama) 09/15/2005

Tobacco will continue to be the main product until there is a substitute crop, which is "sustainable equivalent" to it in terms of volume, market and income for the farmers. National Tobacco Board (LTC) chairman Mohd Zain Ismail said this was to ensure farmers would not lose their source of income from tobacco sales. " I believe this will work with the cooperation and determination from all parties involved along with an integrated approach," Mohd Zain said at a gathering and thanksgiving ceremony here last night. Mohd Zain said there were 12,885 farmers involved in tobacco farming covering 5,600 hectares of land in Kelantan. Bachok, he said is the main tobacco district involving 5,866 farmers, followed by Pasir Puteh with 2,712 farmers, Tumpat (1,435), Pasir Mas (742), Machang (485), and Rantau Panjang with 450 farmers. Mohd Zain said there was lack of interest in tobacco farming in other districts, with less than 300 farmers involved due to the unfertile soil in these areas. He said tobacco contributed RM105 million to the state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or nine per cent out of RM1.8 billion of the agro sub-sectors which included rubber, paddy, vegetables, fruits and fisheries. " Most of the tobacco farmers get their income directly from farming", he said. He said the changes in the free market and the anti-smoking campaign "Tak Nak" was expected to further affect their socio-economic status. " If this is not resolved, problems will arise and farmers will lose their jobs," said Mohd Zain. Citing figures, he said tobacco production had sharply fallen from 13.2 million kg a year earlier to 10.2 million kg this year. This scenario had affected some 2,000 farmers who had lost their source of income, with other farmers producing less tobacco. Enditem