BANGLADESH
Farmers in Lalmonirhat are dedicating more land to the cultivation of tobacco this year, to cover up the losses they incurred from paddy in the last cropping season, as they have received assurances of good prices from tobacco companies.
Six tobacco companies, including two multinationals, have tempted farmers with incentives including free seeds, fertilizers, and technical support. The multinational companies even cover health expenses of the farmers on their list. Farmers say they have already prepared tobacco seedbeds for cultivating tobacco this year.
Local farms are often visited by tobacco company representatives who provide technical support on seedbed maintenance and care.
A high school teacher in Saptibari village, Sekandar Ali, who is a farmer himself explained the attraction of tobacco farming. He said, about six to seven maund (approximately 261 kilograms) of tobacco can be produced in 0.4 acres of land and a farmer can earn Tk 20,000 to Tk 24,000 (US$235-282) from selling that yield. Because tobacco is being cultivated at all the fields adjacent to Sekandar’s, he too had to choose that crop instead of planting spice and vegetables on six acres of his land.
Sources at different tobacco companies in Lalmonirhat say that they have targeted about 20,000 farmers for farming tobacco on 30,000 acres of land this year. According to the same sources, around 15,000 farmers produced the crop on 25,000 acres of land in Lalmonirhat last year.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat, tobacco was cultivated on 13,000 acres of land in five upazilas of the district in 2014, 18,000 acres of land in 2015, 23,000 acres in 2016, 15,000 acres in 2017, 25,000 acres of land in 2018.
Meanwhile, a policy drafted in 2017 by the health and family welfare ministry intended to rein in tobacco production and minimize its impact on public health and the economy, is at the final stage, said a health ministry official.