GUNTUR: Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) appealed to the Centre to immediately end the high taxation regime. The tobacco growers representative FAIFA observed that stringent regulations, low production of the crop, lack of export incentives are having an adverse impact on the tobacco growers across the country. The FAIFA organized rallies, awareness meetings in several tobacco growing states to mark the World Tobacco Growers Day on Saturday.
Speaking at a meeting held in Ongole, tobacco board member and Faifa executive committee member Mareddy Subrahmanyeswara Reddy said that the false propaganda of foreign NGOs is causing biggest harm to the tobacco growers and industry in India. He said that Centre is also unable to contain the flood of never ending illegal/smuggled/contraband cigarettes into India despite knowing that these makers were not using Indian tobacco. He flayed the Centre for constitution of committees on tobacco without presence of tobacco growers. He requested that Centre should take FAIFA into confidence in framing the policies on tobacco sector as it is making highest contribution to the Indian economy.
FAIFA leaders observed that tobacco is providing direct and indirect employment to more than 45.7 million people, around 70% of whom are in the agricultural sector. “Tobacco is a highly remunerative crop providing economic/social benefits to farmers in the tobacco growing regions,” said FAIFA. It further noted that Assocham study found that the tobacco growing areas of the three major tobacco producing States in India including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat are better off in several socio-economic parameters as compared to the non-tobacco growing states.
FAIFA vice president Gadde Seshagiri Rao said that demand for FCV tobacco has reduced considerably post 2013-14 due to sharp decline in legal cigarette volumes on account of high taxes and growth of illegal cigarette trade. He explained that the earnings of FCV tobacco farmers have shrunk cumulatively by more than Rs.7,500 crores due to drop in offtake of tobacco for the manufacture of domestic legal cigarettes since 2013-14. He said that from a normal crop size of 316 million kgs in 2013-14, the crop size has shrunk to 189 million kgs in 2021-22.
Elsewhere in Karnataka, FAIFA president Javare Gowda expressed serious apprehensions about the outcome of upcoming WHO convention on tobacco in November. “We expect the usual unfounded claims against our sector to be reinforced during the WHO sessions. The WHO FCTC is aiming to mobilize governments to end subsidies for tobacco growing and insist on the rapid moving away from tobacco growing, which could have devastating consequences. In the two decades since the treaty was adopted, there has been no evidence to support their claims,” he alleged. He appealed the Centre to entrust tobacco growers as the key partners and stand firm in the defence of tobacco sector to guarantee a better future for the next generations.
Speaking at a meeting held in Ongole, tobacco board member and Faifa executive committee member Mareddy Subrahmanyeswara Reddy said that the false propaganda of foreign NGOs is causing biggest harm to the tobacco growers and industry in India. He said that Centre is also unable to contain the flood of never ending illegal/smuggled/contraband cigarettes into India despite knowing that these makers were not using Indian tobacco. He flayed the Centre for constitution of committees on tobacco without presence of tobacco growers. He requested that Centre should take FAIFA into confidence in framing the policies on tobacco sector as it is making highest contribution to the Indian economy.
FAIFA leaders observed that tobacco is providing direct and indirect employment to more than 45.7 million people, around 70% of whom are in the agricultural sector. “Tobacco is a highly remunerative crop providing economic/social benefits to farmers in the tobacco growing regions,” said FAIFA. It further noted that Assocham study found that the tobacco growing areas of the three major tobacco producing States in India including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat are better off in several socio-economic parameters as compared to the non-tobacco growing states.
FAIFA vice president Gadde Seshagiri Rao said that demand for FCV tobacco has reduced considerably post 2013-14 due to sharp decline in legal cigarette volumes on account of high taxes and growth of illegal cigarette trade. He explained that the earnings of FCV tobacco farmers have shrunk cumulatively by more than Rs.7,500 crores due to drop in offtake of tobacco for the manufacture of domestic legal cigarettes since 2013-14. He said that from a normal crop size of 316 million kgs in 2013-14, the crop size has shrunk to 189 million kgs in 2021-22.
Elsewhere in Karnataka, FAIFA president Javare Gowda expressed serious apprehensions about the outcome of upcoming WHO convention on tobacco in November. “We expect the usual unfounded claims against our sector to be reinforced during the WHO sessions. The WHO FCTC is aiming to mobilize governments to end subsidies for tobacco growing and insist on the rapid moving away from tobacco growing, which could have devastating consequences. In the two decades since the treaty was adopted, there has been no evidence to support their claims,” he alleged. He appealed the Centre to entrust tobacco growers as the key partners and stand firm in the defence of tobacco sector to guarantee a better future for the next generations.
