Tobacco cultivation in Kenya: Farmer honoured for successful conversion to food cultivation

Goodbye tobacco growing? The WHO wants a smoke-free world: zero per cent smokers. To achieve this goal, the organisation is planning further measures in cooperation with the countries. This article explains which steps are being taken on the way to a smoke-free society.

Estimated reading time: 1 Minute

Below is the WHO media release of 25 May 2023.

WHO calls for an end to tobacco subsidies

To mark World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on governments to stop subsidising tobacco cultivation. It is calling for the promotion of more sustainable cultivation methods that could feed millions of people. „Tobacco is responsible for eight million deaths every year. But governments around the world spend millions to support tobacco farms,“ says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO. „When we choose to grow food instead of tobacco, we prioritise health. In doing so, we preserve ecosystems and strengthen food security for all.“ More than 300 million people worldwide face acute food insecurity. At the same time, more than three million hectares of land in over 120 countries are being used to grow the deadly tobacco, even in countries where people are starving.

Growing food instead of tobacco

A new WHO report entitled „Grow food, not tobacco“ highlights the harms of tobacco growing and the benefits of switching to more sustainable food crops for farmers, communities, economies, the environment and the world as a whole. The report also exposes the tobacco industry for driving farmers into a vicious cycle of debt, promoting tobacco farming with exaggerated economic benefits and lobbying through agricultural front groups. Tobacco farming causes disease among the farmers themselves, and it is estimated that more than a million children work on tobacco farms, missing out on their chance of an education.

50 cigarettes per day (?)

„Tobacco is not only a massive threat to food security, but to overall health, including that of tobacco farmers. Farmers are exposed to chemical pesticides, tobacco smoke and a nicotine dose of 50 cigarettes*, leading to diseases such as chronic lung disease and nicotine poisoning,“ says Dr Rüdiger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at the WHO. Tobacco cultivation is a global problem. Until now, the focus has been on Asia and South America, but the latest data shows that tobacco companies are expanding into Africa. Since 2005, the area under tobacco cultivation in Africa has grown by almost 20 per cent.

* Editor's note: It is not clear from the WHO press release whether the figure is 50 cigarettes per day, week, month or year. Another WHO press release referred to 50 cigarettes per day.

Award for farmer from Kenya because she no longer grows tobacco

The WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are supporting the „Tobacco Free Farms“ initiative, which will help more than 5,000 farmers in Kenya and Zambia to grow sustainable food instead of tobacco. Every year on World No Tobacco Day, people who are committed to tobacco control are honoured. This year, one of the recipients, Mrs Sprina Robi Chacha, a farmer from Kenya, is being recognised for not only switching from growing tobacco to growing protein-rich beans, but also training hundreds of other farmers on how to do so to create a healthier community.

Improving food security

182 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have committed to „promote economically viable alternatives for tobacco workers and growers“. A key way for countries to fulfil this commitment is to end tobacco subsidies and promote healthier farming methods. Growing food instead of tobacco prioritises health, preserves ecosystems and improves food security.

I hope you enjoyed my latest article and found the information it contained interesting. I am very excited to hear your views and look forward to reading your comments 🤗

Resources on the topic

Top 50 tobacco producing countries

Further information from the WHO on World No Tobacco Day 2023

This might also interest you