Explaining Why Farmers Grow Tobacco: Evidence From Malawi, Kenya, and Zambia

Abstract

Introduction Tobacco production continues to increase in low- and middle-income countries creating complications for tobacco control efforts. There is the need to understand and address the global tobacco leaf supply as a means of decreasing tobacco consumption and improving farmers livelihoods in line with Article 17 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This study aims to understand the reasons why farmers grow tobacco and identify factors that influence these reasons. Methods Primary survey data (N = 1770) collected in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia in the 2013–2014 farming season. Data analysis uses both descriptive and multinomial logistical regression methods. Results Majority of farmers started and are currently growing tobacco because they believed it was the only economically viable crop. Compared with Malawi, farmers in Kenya and Zambia have a 0.2 and 0.4 lower probability of growing tobacco, respectively because they perceive it as the only economically viable crop, but a 0.04 and 0.2 higher probability of growing tobacco, respectively because they believe it is highly lucrative. There are district/county differences in the reasons provided with some districts having a majority of the farmers citing the existence of a ready market or incentives from the tobacco industry. Statistically significant factors influencing these reasons are the educational level and age of the household head, land allocated to tobacco and debts. Conclusion There is the need to address the unique features of each district to increase successful uptake of alternative livelihoods. One consistent finding is that farmers' perceived economic viability contributes to tobacco growing. Implications This study finds that perceived economic viability of tobacco is the dominant factor in the decisions to grow tobacco by smallholder farmers in Malawi, Kenya, and Zambia. There is the need to more deeply understand what contributes to farmers' perceived viability of a crop. Understanding and addressing these factors may increase the successful uptake of alternative livelihoods to tobacco. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that a one-size fits all alternative livelihood intervention is less likely to be effective as each district has unique features affecting farmers' decisions on growing tobacco.

Understanding Alternatives to Tobacco Production in Kenya: A Qualitative Analysis at the Sub-National Level

“…What we see are decisions that are primarily based on the structured supply chain and corresponding benefits of contractual relationships with leaf-buying companies, such as provision of inputs and access to loans. This is becoming a ubiquitous theme in studies that have examined why farmers choose to grow tobacco irrespective of the geographic location [6,17,22,23].…”

“…Selection of participants for the focus groups was done during data collection of a parallel tobacco farmer survey in each of the regions. Enumerators, the individuals administering the survey to tobacco farmers, which is another component of our research project [6,14,18], identified 10-15 of the most experienced tobacco farmers in each county who were willing to provide additional information during the FGD. Efforts were made to generate some variation by gender, age, and the extent to which farmers had diversified livelihoods.…”

“…Despite price fluctuations, extremely high input costs, and deleterious health and environmental impacts, the tobacco supply chain, particularly for contract farmers, is much better structured than supply chains for other crops. Studies in Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia indicate that farmers routinely express that tobacco is one of the only viable crops, stemming in considerable part from the receipt of extension services, inputs, and loans from leaf-buying companies, and the shorter distance to and existence of a predictable market with a guarantee of cash payment at the end of the season [6,17,18]. Thus, it is important to understand better the contextual factors that shape tobacco farmers' decisions in order to target policies and programs that aim to shift farmers from tobacco to alternatives.…”

“…To date, the literature exploring alternatives to tobacco farming has focused on national policy contexts and the views of farmers themselves [6,17,19,20], both important levels of inquiry. There is a need, however, to add the perspective of sub-national government officials and agricultural extension officers whose mandates in many countries are to support and guide agricultural production.…”

“…In principle, this shift places greatly power in the hands of local agriculture officers to shape the landscape of agricultural production, which provides the administrative backdrop to understand the potential for alternatives to tobacco growing. Although there is some literature describing the challenges and benefits of tobacco growing in Kenya [3,6,14], there is limited data on how county-level government officials and agricultural extension officers at the sub-national level view tobacco growing, and the challenges to and opportunities for promoting alternative livelihoods.…”