Poor farmers are being drawn to tobacco farming because they receive cash and other special benefits. The tobacco leaves are dried in home yards, by roadsides, in orchards and elsewhere, so the smell of tobacco spreads through the area. People of all ages live at risk of various illnesses.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, about 92,326 tonnes of tobacco is produced in the country, using about 1 lakh 385 acres of land in about 25 districts. Tobacco is grown in districts including Rajbari, Netrokona, Chuadanga, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Bandarban and Khagrachhari.

Tobacco cultivation starts in Kartik and runs until Chaitra-Boishakh. A farmer spends about Tk 8,000 to 12,000 in all per bigha and gets about 7-10 maunds of tobacco, worth about Tk 60,000 to 70,000. Farmers now sell it to company agents in 60 kg bales.

Farmers say: "We know tobacco causes physical harm. But we grow it because it is more profitable than other crops. A tobacco company gives us cash, fertiliser and other support for cultivation."

Those affected say: "You cannot walk past because of the smell of tobacco. It is harmful to health, and you cannot breathe properly. The government should shut down tobacco farming and the companies. Wherever tobacco is grown, the soil loses its fertility."

Yet farmers grow tobacco, tempted by the many benefits. Alongside discouraging farmers from growing it, fertiliser and other support should be stopped, and farmers must also be told about the damage to their soil. Since there is no scope for legal action, farmers need to be discouraged from tobacco farming by highlighting the harm it does.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.