Farmers have urged the government to support them producing crops alternative to tobacco farming, formulate and implement policies for thwarting tobacco cultivation.
They made these demands at a press conference on "Voice of Victims: Non-profitable Tobacco Farming, Allurement to Harmful Profit" Wednesday at the National Press Club.
The Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) has taken the initiative to support the framers to place the demands.
There is no governmental policy available to control tobacco farming in the country, said participants at the event.
They claimed that tobacco companies are aggressively deploying the marginal and helpless farmers into tobacco farming on croplands.
The farmers also prefer tobacco cultivation on the farmlands for a temporary profit.
Tobacco companies are gradually grabbing the food and other crop producing lands. By manipulation, tobacco companies are making profit for years using the government's subsidised fertilizers and irrigation facilities worth billions.
Agitated farmers have started protest demanding an end to hostile actions undertaken by the tobacco companies and to receive governmental assistance in producing food and other cash-crops instead of tobacco cultivation on the crop lands.
On the eve of the current tobacco farming season, troubled tobacco farmers have staged demonstration, held rallies and formed human chain in tobacco company dominant areas in the country including Kushtia, Bandarban and Lalmonirhat in favour of substitute crops against tobacco.
ATMA also feels the importance to stage such protests nationally to reach the policymakers and relevant stakeholders in tobacco control activities in Bangladesh.
Mohammad Abdul Bari (Kushtia), Abdus Salam (Bandarban) and Alam Badshah (Lalmonirhat) spoke at the event on behalf of the agitated farmers of the tobacco cultivation areas. They said that once they started tobacco farming from the allurement and inspiration of the tobacco companies, but they are producing other crops now on their lands after realizing the damages caused by tobacco farming.
Professorial Fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr M Asaduzzaman participated as an expert.
Pointing out the multi-dimensional damages caused by tobacco farming he said, "Tobacco is destroying 1-2 per cent of the GDP growth, therefore, the policymakers should realize the necessity to formulate and implement policies for tobacco farming."
ATMA, at the press conference, placed demands including inspiration and assistance from the government to the farmers for alternatives to tobacco farming and formulation and implementation of an effective tobacco farming control policy with the provision to prevent tobacco companies interference.
The written statement was delivered by Nadira Kiron, Co-Convener, ATMA. Introductory remarks were made by Ruhul Amin Rushd, Convener of ATMA. Among others, different tobacco control platform officials were also present at the programme.
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