Area under tobacco in Gujarat down 80%

The area under tobacco shrunk substantially during the last five years due to various reasons in Gujarat.

However, the prices of tobacco have remained stable because of decreased demand for beedi as a major part of the tobacco grown in Gujarat is used in beedis.

The farmers of Anand and Kheda districts are fast turning towards other horticulture crops like vegetables, fruits and banana as well as cotton.

Talking to Business Standard, Bhikhubhai Patel, President, Gujarat Tobacco Merchants' Association, said, "The tobacco farming in the state has suffered a lot in the last five years because of various reasons. If this goes on the time is not far when Gujarat will no longer have tobacco cultivation."

"Earlier, villages famous for tobacco like Sarasa, Od and Samarakha in Anand and Kheda districts used to have 100 per cent area under cultivation in tobacco. Now this area has shrunk to only 20 per cent. The tobacco yield has gone down to 700 kg per hectare from 1,000 kg per hectare in the last five years."

Giving the reasons of this decrease he said, "There are many reasons for this decrease. A major reason is the decrease in beedi demand. New generation does not smoke beedi and production of beedis has fallen. A major portion of tobacco grown in Anand and Kheda districts is used in making beedis. So the demand of tobacco from Gujarat has also gone down."

The second major reason is the increasing cost of production. "The prices of labour have gone up. Disrupted power supply is taking its toll on tobacco farming. If a farmer hires two labourers for irrigating the land for Rs 100 each for an hour and then there is a power cut, then the labourers will have to wait for power to return as the water pumps will not work. So the farmer is paying them for nothing actually. On the other hand fertiliser and diesel prices have also shot up," Patel said.

"In Andhra Pradesh and surrounding places naxalites have posed a great threat to tobacco farming as they have created labour unions resulting in an ugly labour issue. Slowly, this movement is also entering Gujarat."

All these problems have forced farmers to look elsewhere. "The farmers have started growing other crops for the last five years. Farmers growing tobacco for generations are now taking cash crops like cotton and horticulture crops like vegetables, fruits and banana."

Although the production and acreage of tobacco has fallen in the region, it has not affected the prices.

"It is natural that if the production goes down then prices shoot up but that has not happened in Gujarat as far as tobacco is concerned. The prices have remained stable as the demand for tobacco has also gone down in the recent years. Price of tobacco has remained between Rs 400 to Rs 600 for 20 kg for the last few years," Patel added.