Farmers' body writes to PMO against WHO's advice to replace tobacco farming

Representatives of FAIFA claimed that the recommendations made by WHO are "unscientific" and that there are no benefits to be had by replacing tobacco with other crops

Responding to WHO’s recommendation that alternative crops should replace tobacco, representatives of a farmer body on Wedensday wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the finance ministry expressing their opposition.

In the letter, representatives of Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) claimed that the recommendations made by World Health Organisation (WHO) are “unscientific” and that there are no benefits to be had by replacing tobacco with other crops

Representatives of the umbrella body cited a study done by the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) and said that attempts made to switch to alternative crops like grams and paddy in Andhra Pradesh led to huge losses for the tobacco farmers in comparison to their previous earnings from tobacco cultivation.

FAIFA, a group representing millions of farmers and farm workers cultivating commercial crops across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Gujarat, said in the letter India should not follow the recommendations made by WHO as these are "one-size fits all" solutions based on a “western model of tobacco consumption”.

“They do not necessarily serve the purpose of tobacco control or revenue enhancement in a country like India. Further, India being a large tobacco producer, the livelihood of millions will be affected due to such appeals without doing proper agro-climatic studies," FAIFA general secretary Murali Babu said in a statement.

What did WHO recommend

Strategies to reduce tobacco supply are needed for achieving an overall reduction in tobacco use prevalence, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, said on the eve of this year’s World No Tobacco Day. The theme of 2023's World No Tobacco Day is "We need food, not tobacco".

WHO says its campaign for this year aims to spread awareness about alternative crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage them to grow sustainable crops. The campaign also seeks to expose the tobacco industry's efforts to interfere with attempts to substitute tobacco growing with sustainable crops, thereby contributing to the global food crisis, Dr Singh added.

Dr Singh  said that the tobacco industry often projects itself as an advocate for the livelihood of tobacco farmers. In the region, tobacco growers and workers are often used by the industry as front groups to rally against tobacco control, added.