Big tobacco push drives up per hectare production
Bangladesh's tobacco production per hectare has grown by nearly 21 percent over the last five years, indicating a hard push by big tobacco companies for more profit from a product known to be a serious health and environmental concern.
In 2018-19, tobacco leaf production was recorded at 2.04 tonnes per hectare. It rose to 2.46 tonnes per hectare (20.58% increase) in 2022-23, according to Department of Agricultural Extension.
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This rise has been consistent too. Each of these five years saw an increase of about 1-14 percent, never recording a negative growth.
Earlier in 2009-2010, per hectare production was 1.41 tonnes, according to World Bank data.
This means, per hectare tobacco production has gone up by about 73 percent in the last 14 years.
DAE officials, experts and farmers say this consistent gain in harvest is the result of the introduction of high-yielding varieties by tobacco companies and the application of high dose of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in tobacco farms.
"Tobacco plants require intensive use of fertilisers because they absorb more nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium than other major food and cash crops…. Many of these chemicals are so harmful to both the environment and farmers' health that they are banned in some countries," says a WHO report published in 2017.
The government will take all effective steps to implement the Tobacco Control Act. We will also revise our laws to align with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, consistent with the priorities of implementing the SDGs.
Bangladesh has a vision to be a tobacco-free nation by 2040. In 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced her commitment to implement the Tobacco Control Act and revise related laws to align with the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Tobacco's adverse impacts on health is well known, including the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancers and respiratory illnesses, but what it does to the environment is less often discussed.
Long before a tobacco product finds a consumer, it already leaves a serious impact on soil, water and air.
Numerous studies from home and abroad show tobacco farming reduces soil fertility, contaminates nearby water, pollutes air and destroys forest on such a scale that their combined effect pose a far greater risk compared to the production of any other crop.
Tobacco is also a major cause of carbon emission and deforestation.
According to the WHO, nearly 14 grams of CO2 are emitted per cigarette over its life cycle. Also, production of 300 cigarettes requires about one tree, used to make cigarette papers and to dry tobacco leaf in a process called "curing".
In case of Bangladesh, tobacco farming accounts for over 30 percent of annual deforestation, putting the country third internationally in terms of the severity of the problem, after South Korea (45%) and Uruguay (40%), according to a study by PATH Canada.
SOIL POLLUTION
Tobacco is a major cash crop in Bangladesh, the 12th largest tobacco grower in the world as of 2020, according to data from the University of Bath.
In 2022-23, the country grew 65,227 tonnes of tobacco on 26,475 hectares (65,421 acres) of land, which is roughly 1 percent of the total arable land in the country, DAE data show.
One of the top tax paying sectors, tobacco industry generated more than Tk 32,502 crore in revenue from domestic cigarette sales (nearly 80 billion sticks) alone last fiscal, an 8% increase from the previous year, according to NBR data obtained unofficially from a source.
Bangladesh also exports a significant volume of unmanufactured tobacco, earning more revenue.
It comes with a cost.
As farmers often apply excessive chemical fertilisers and pesticides provided by the big tobacco companies for higher yields, the soil loses fertility and the nearby water turns toxic, according to a scientific study done in Kushtia, a major tobacco growing district.
It so happens as the residues of tobacco plant, which contains nicotine, and the fertilisers and pesticides applied on the farm contribute to the increase or decrease of various soil and water properties, changing their natural composition and quality.
Published in the Malaysian Journal of Society and Space in 2015, the findings were based on a comparative analysis of test results of the top soil (0-15 cm) from tobacco and non-tobacco land as well as the water from around tobacco farm and non-tobacco farm. The samples were tested at Dhaka University lab.
The presence of Aldicarb, a pesticide, found in the tobacco farm denotes soil toxicity. The level of 1,3-dichloropropene, which also comes from pesticide, found in the tobacco land has the potential to damage soil properties.
When soil pH level falls, as it shows in this case, the soil turns more acidic and less fertile.
"A pH level of 5, as found in this study, can kill many plants although some crops and trees can survive," said Prof Dr Mirza Hasanuzzaman of Agronomy Department at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, who saw the research findings.
Excess phosphorous and potassium toxic anions that come from phosphate and potash fertilisers can reduce and change the pH level of the soil, says the study, adding, "For this reason, farmers in the study area needed more and more fertilisers each year."
The research was done by Juel Rana Kutub and Nishat Falgunee of Dhaka University's earth and environmental science department.
High potassium concentration in soil solution hinders magnesium (an essential nutrient) uptake and may induce magnesium deficiency in plants, said Prof Dr Md Alamgir of soil science at Chattogram University.
A separate study done in Tangail found that non-tobacco land contains significantly higher pH value and magnesium status, whereas tobacco land shows lower. Similarly, tobacco land shows significantly higher organic matter (OM), nitrate (N), potassium (K), sulfur (S), and zinc (Zn) content in the soil, whereas non-tobacco land shows lower.
Published in December 2022 in the International Journal of Agriculture Research Innovation & Technology, the study was done by Asmaul Hosna Suma and others. The samples were tested at the laboratory of Soil Research Development Institute under the agriculture ministry.
"Significantly higher organic matter, nitrate, potassium, sulfur, and zinc content in tobacco land may be due to the addition of organic matter and nutrients such as nitrate, potassium, sulfur, and zinc fertilisers during tobacco cultivation," said Prof Alamgir, who saw the research findings.
WATER POLLUTION
A single cigarette requires about 3.7 litres of water over its life cycle from cultivation, manufacturing, transport and use to disposal, according to a 2022 WHO report.
Tobacco needs up to eight times more water than many crops, including tomatoes or potatoes. For every kilogram of tobacco that is not produced, consumed and disposed of, the potable water needs of one person can be met for an entire year, the report says.
When such large volume of water laced with nicotine, chemical fertilisers and pesticides sips into the water table and runs into nearby waterbodies with rainwater, it can disrupt, damage and even kill some aquatic lives.
The 2015 study in Kushtia shows that various hazardous residues, including 1,3dichloropropene and aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfonic toxic elements that come from pesticides, can enter the drainage aquifer and surface water and turn the water toxic.
Chlorpyrifos, another pesticide, in the tested water exceeded the acceptable limit and rendered the water hazardous to human health.
Nitrate, phosphorous and dissolved oxygen in the soil mainly came from chemical fertilisers and exceeded the acceptable nitrate level of 10ppm and phosphorous level of 10ppm as determined by the Department of Environment (DoE), the study found.
"A low pH level can kill aquatic life, including plants and fish," said Prof Mirza Hasanuzzaman, adding that at dissolved oxygen level 3.01, as found in the study, many fish species will die while many other fish species will have stunted growth and become smaller over time due to changes in their genes.
Prof Manzoorul Kibria of Chattogram University's zoology department, also coordinator of the university's Halda River Research Laboratory, has long been researching various fish species of Halda river with support from Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), a government body, and Integrated Development Foundation (IDF), an NGO.
His own study last year found tobacco farming along the Halda river has been affecting the aquatic life in Halda, including various fish species.
"Mother fish would not spawn if the environment is not right. Suddenly in 2016, no mother fish spawned in Halda. We have not run any lab test, but based on the existing literature from home and abroad, we think the tobacco farming along the river was a key reason," he said.
THE PULL FACTOR
Farmers are aware what tobacco farming can do to soil and water.
The Daily Star interviewed seven tobacco farmers in Bandarban and Khagracchari for this story, and all of them said tobacco cultivation leaves bad impacts on land as well as their health. Yet they are attracted to tobacco farming because of the high profit margin compared to other crops made possible by the cash, input and technical support from tobacco companies.
Ushe Mong, aged about 40, has been a tobacco farmer for about 11 years. For an experiment last year, he grew beans in parts of his land and tobacco on about 80 decimals of land in Bandarban's Jamchhari area.
"At the end of the season, I made a profit of around Tk 135,000 from tobacco, while I could not even recoup my cost from the beans," said Ushe, who grew tobacco on about two acres of land this season, and is expecting a higher profit margin than last year.
According to a study by Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh a few years ago, tobacco farmers earn around 30 percent more than non-tobacco farmers. Compared to rice, the return from tobacco is about 18.6 percent higher. It is about 33 percent higher compared with jute, the main cash crop.
Most tobacco farmers are known as "contracted farmers" in the tobacco industry, meaning they grow tobacco only for the tobacco company they are registered with. The company provides them with interest-free loan, free seeds, fertilisers and pesticides and technical support through their field agents.
All these costs are deducted from the value of the total harvest at the end of the season; the surplus is the farmers' profit.
As of 2023, British American Company alone had nearly 52,000 contracted farmers, up from 30,000 in 2018, according to the company's own data.
Data from other companies were not available.
"The success of our contract farming system stands as a proven model, with the company consistently setting high standards in agricultural best practices that benefit communities in diverse ways," BAT's 2023 annual report says.
THE BIG BENEFICIARIES
The real benefits go to the big tobacco companies, however.
In 2022, market research company Euromonitor International estimated the Bangladeshi tobacco market to be worth nearly Tk 420 billion ($4.5 billion).
This is despite the fact that Bangladesh is a small player in the global tobacco market, equivalent to 2.3 percent of the total estimated global cigarette production, according to a 2018 report by BAT, the largest tobacco company in Bangladesh with about 85 percent of the market share.
In 2023, BAT's profit after tax stood at Tk 1,788 crore, nearly a two-fold rise from Tk 925 crore in 2019.
Japan Tobacco International (JTI) is BAT's nearest competitor, having 9 percent share, according to Tobacco Tactics, a research project of University of Bath.
Smaller domestic companies include Abul Khair Tobacco Company, Alpha Tobacco Manufacturing Company and Nasir Tobacco Industries Ltd.
Bangladesh government owns about 10% share of BAT, or about 57 lakh shares out of total 6 crore shares.
"We do not encourage any promotional tactics by tobacco companies. Yet, some big tobacco companies offer various incentives and bonuses to entice farmers into tobacco farming. We are committed to bring down tobacco cultivation both for health and environmental reasons," Agriculture Minister Dr Abdus Sahid told The Daily Star yesterday.
(Tahira Shamsi Utsa and Prajukta Roy Chowdhury from Dhaka and Mong Sing Hai Marma from Bandarban contributed to this report)
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