India’s tobacco production rose by 25 per cent to 314 million kg in 2008-09, making it even more difficult for the country to meet its commitment to the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce production by 50 per cent within the next decade.
“The country’s tobacco production reached 314 million kg in 2008-09, as against 252 million kg in the previous year. The rise in output has been massive,” state-owned Tobacco Board Chairman J Suresh Babu said.
The output from Andhra Pradesh, the largest producer, rose to 200 million kg in 2008-09 from 165 million kg in the previous year. Production in Karnataka surged to 114 million kg as against 87 million kg during the review period,Babu said.
The rise in production may spell bad news for the country. India, the third-largest exporter of tobacco in the world, became a signatory to the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003, whereby it is mandatory to reduce tobacco supply by 50 per cent within 10-15 years of signing the pact.
However, as prices of the Indian tobacco touched records, farmers are tempted all the more to cultivate it, Babu said. The average price of tobacco in the ongoing auction in Andhra Pradesh has touched a record and is currently ruling at Rs 108.70 a kg, compared with over Rs 84 the year before, he said.
Surging demand in global markets, coupled with a decline in output in Zimbabwe by about 20 million kg, is putting pressure on tobacco prices, he said.
To curtail tobacco production, the Commerce Ministry had mandated the Tobacco Board to prepare a road map for shifting farmers to other crops and work out a rehabilitation formula for those whose livelihood depends upon such cultivation.
On its part, The Tobacco Board has submitted a Rs 125-crore proposal to the Commerce Ministry to rehabilitate farmers. According to the proposal, an amount of Rs 5 lakh will be provided in three installments to each of the 2,500 barns selected in the first lot for farmers to shift to other crops.
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Tobacco is an annual or bi-annual growing 1-3 meters tall with large sticky leaves that contain nicotine. Native to the Americas, tobacco has a long history of use as a shamanic inebriant and stimulant. It is extremely popular and well-known for its addictive potential.
Nicotiana rustica leaves.
Nicotiana rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas Nicotiana tabacum (common tobacco) leaves contain about 1 to 3%
A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the Eastern United States.
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it may be in the form of cigarettes smoking, snuffing, chewing, dipping tobacco, or snus.
