Tobacco ryots divided over FDI

Tobacco farmers are divided on the issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India's tobacco sector. While the Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations (CIFA) has strongly opposed FDI in tobacco, the Periyapattana-based Karnataka VFC Tobacco Growers' Association (KVFCTGA) and the members of a delegation of tobacco farmers from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are demanding that FDI be allowed in the sector.

A delegation of KVFCTGA had recently visited major tobacco producing countries of Brazil and Zimbabwe.

CIFA, which claims that it is a professional and apolitical farmers' organisation with representation from 23 states, with a majority of farmers from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, submitted a representation to commerce minister Kamal Nath expressing concern over any change in the government policy on FDI in tobacco leaf processing and manufacturing.

The delegation, led by chairman Sanat Mehta and secretary general P Chengal Reddy said any such change would be anti-farmer and affect the livelihood of the farmers in the two states and would be against the interests of the country.

Earlier in March, a delegation of AP farmers met the Prime Minister and the commerce minister and pleaded for FDI into the tobacco sector "keeping in mind the voluminous advantages by FDI entry."

Later in a press statement, the KVFCTGA had said that Indian farmers' delegation during its visit to Zimbabwe and Brazil led by Tobacco Board chairman J Suresh Babu in February studied factors like cultivation and marketing, and impressed with it appealed to the Centre to allow FDI into the tobacco sector.

At a press conference, KVFCTGA president B V Javare Gowda said some leading cigarette companies of the US had shown interest in FDI.

"FDI into the tobacco sector will be in the larger interest of the tobacco growing community. It strongly feels that the present system of crop regulation, marketing and related activities of the Tobacco Board are strongly protected," Gowda said.