The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation in Africa (CAPPA) reports that 8 million people die each year globally from tobacco usage and its health-related effects, along with the annual loss of 600 million trees. The call came from CAPPA executive director Akinbode Oluwafemi at an event in Lagos commemorating World No Tobacco Day with the theme, “We need Food, Not Tobacco”. He said that narratives told by its former farmers in Oke-Ogun show the unfortunate reality of how the industry behaves toward these important contributors of it to the global supply chain.
Oluwafemi revealed that the field trip to Oke-Ogun revealed the hardships situation encountered by the local farming community as a result of the decline in producing tobacco and that these farmers, who were once dependent on tobacco cultivation, are now attempting to adapt to an alternate way of life with substitute crops like maize, cassava, and yams. He lamented that despite their best efforts, these farmers often had to fend for themselves due to a lack of resources such as capital, farming equipment, and access to markets.
Many health complications and environmental damages are recorded.
On numerous occasions, they have emphasized the potentially hazardous effects of tobacco farming. As a result of the cultivation of tobacco, which requires the use of pesticides that are hazardous to farmers, the cutting down and burning of trees for the purpose of curing it, which results in the destruction of approximately 3.5 million hectares of land each year, and the utilize of a significant amount of water to grow tobacco, the health of both humans and the ecosystem is adversely affected, as is the climate’s ability to withstand the effects of climate change.
He expressed major concerns over the persistent health problems experienced by these farmers as a result of their long-term exposure to it and its associated chemicals, and he revealed that, due to a lack of access to medical care, these problems go largely unaddressed, with many farmers instead turning to obsolete and ineffective traditional remedies. Oluwafemi argued that the people of Oke-Ogun needed better access to healthcare, particularly for the ageing population of older farmers, with an emphasis on the avoidance and treatment of illness related to tobacco farming.
Adequate support and funding are needed for the concerned farmers.
In light of these developments, he put out the idea that the federal government need to offer significant assistance to farmers in their transition away from the cultivation of tobacco and towards the cultivation of other crops. This might include monetary assistance, affordable agricultural loans, and other types of insurance products. According to him, this would provide farmers with the financial means to shift to new crops and safeguard them against losses that could not have been predicted.
Furthermore, the federal government ought to conduct an investigation into the disengagement contracts that the country signed with local tobacco farmers in light of an infringement of the terms that several of the farmers have alleged; it ought to promote the formation of Farmers’ cooperatives to strengthen their ability to collectively bargain when deciding on prices for crops and to safeguard them against market instabilities; and it ought to encourage diversification of crops initiatives that could offer farmers with substitutes to tobacco farming.
Farmers should be encouraged to transition to substitute farming.
Moreover, the director of CAPPA’s programmes, Phillip Jakpor, made a similar appeal to the federal government, urging them to develop initiatives to encourage its farmers to shift their focus to other crops that could improve their health and the health of their communities and the environment. Following this year’s theme, he argued that the government should provide assistance to the farmers by funding programmes that encourage them to shift their attention from its production to the cultivation of sustainable food crops.
Related Links
CAPPA: Website
Snopes.com
Tobacco effect Kills 8 million people yearly. – Sustainable farming is needed to save the country, not tobacco – CAPPA. – Express your point of view.
Since Tobacco is known to be harmful to farmers who cultivate it and it was recorded to kill 8 million people yearly, it will be better to use Oke-ogun as a example for awareness creating to farmers who want to cultivate it. Federal Goverment should make fund available for those who want to stop cultivating Tobacco for other health friendly crops.
Tobacco is actually injurious to our health. This is the reason why it has been prohibited. Youths should detest from taking tobacco, if not it can cause mental disorder.
From the records above 8 million people were killed from the effect of Tobacco annually. Therefore farmers who cultivate tobacco should desist from it because farmers are affected too especially during cultivation. Oke-ogun farmers is a case study of farmers who once cultivated it and are affected.
Millions of people are dying yearly because of tobacco farmer those who are cultivating it is really affecting them they need to stop it and be far away from tobacco they need to learn from the past what happen to them
Tobacco effect Kills 8 million people yearly. The rate is very high, so many are addicted to smoking tobacco which is really affecting their health badly. We have to create awareness on the danger of smoking tobacco.
Majority of people just consume tobacco without knowing fully what its health-related effects is. There is a high need to put a stop to this act and barred it.
Why can’t we remember from the past like oke ogun we need to stop cultivation of tobacco is food we need not what that will be killing us many people die from tobacco yearly we should stop this
Is food we need to harvest not tobacco, this tobacco is affecting the farmer cultivating it farmer that that they should be cultivating food are now losing their life to dangerous drugs this need to be stop
Since this tobacco is doing us harms more than good. I think the government should declare a war against the plantation and ban it for any farmer to plant it anymore .
It is crucial to prevent the use of tobacco and protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke exposure. Governments and health organizations should implement policies such as increasing taxes on tobacco products, banning smoking in public spaces, and launching anti-smoking campaigns to raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco on health. By doing this, we can reduce the number of deaths caused by tobacco and improve the overall health and wellbeing of individuals worldwide.