‘If you kill tobacco, you kill Malawi’: Structural barriers to tobacco diversification for sustainable development

Wenham, Clare; Fang, Jennifer

doi:10.1002/sd.2106

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For example, in Malawi, the prominence of tobacco has been maintained by formal and informal arrangements between companies and government agencies that keep leaf prices low and ensure maximum benefits to tobacco companies 6. These institutional arrangements, including longstanding tobacco governing boards with tobacco industry representation, and agricultural research agencies with mandates to improve the quality and quantity of tobacco being produced, serve to perpetuate both material support for tobacco growing and a normative environment that unquestioningly views tobacco as an important economic commodity 5 7…”

Section: Why Do Governments Support Tobacco? Institutional Legacies A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, tobacco is touted as an indispensable economic commodity, an economic boon to governments and a major source of employment 5–7. However, the numbers tell a different story.…”

Section: Introduction: Overview Of Tobacco Growing Worldwidementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, tobacco is touted as an indispensable economic commodity, an economic boon to governments and a major source of employment. [5][6][7] However, the numbers tell a different story. In almost all cases, the contribution of tobacco to overall GDP is minimal (see table 1).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tobacco farming: overcoming an understated impediment to comprehensive tobacco control

Lencucha

Drope

Magati³

et al. 2022

Tob Control

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Tobacco farming has emerged as an important concern for tobacco control advocates. Tobacco-growing countries face unique and important challenges to comprehensive, intersectoral tobacco control. These challenges stem from narratives that position tobacco as an important driver of economic growth and development, perpetuated by tobacco interests with close ties to government decision-making. While the global tobacco control movement has enshrined a commitment to alternatives to tobacco growing, there remain numerous obstacles. Tobacco growing is often situated in contexts with limited markets for other agricultural products, limited knowledge and economic resources to pursue alternatives, and/or a structure that favours industry control over the supply chain, all constraining the decision space of farmers. An evidence-informed approach is necessary to address tobacco supply, including growing, processing, manufacturing and trade, in this complex context. This paper reviews the economic, environmental and policy context of tobacco growing with an emphasis on the past decade of empirical work on the political economy of tobacco supply and introduces strategies to pursue alternatives. This analysis debunks many of the arguments used to perpetuate the narrative of tobacco’s prosperity and provides critical insights into the institutional constraints faced by government sectors in pursuing a policy of alternatives.

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Section: Why Do Governments Support Tobacco? Institutional Legacies A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Overview Of Tobacco Growing Worldwidementioning

confidence: 99%

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Tobacco farming: overcoming an understated impediment to comprehensive tobacco control

Lencucha

Drope

Magati³

et al. 2022

Tob Control

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“…Serious efforts to understand and establish the goals or orientation of how agrotourism can be developed will provide a clear direction for the form of agrotourism to be built. The development of agrotourism requires cooperation between parties, which requires a clear and measurable goal foundation as an effort to develop alternative businesses from agricultural businesses [7].…”

Section: Goal Determination Needs In Agrotourism Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reorienting the Goal and Direction of Tobacco Agrotourism Development in Jember Indonesia

Sulistyono¹,

Muksin²,

Farhan³

et al. 2022

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social Science, Humanity and Public Health (ICOSHIP 2021)

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Tobacco farming plays a strategic role in Jember district. It gives multidimensional impacts on various other businesses and has a positive economic impact on the district. However, the Government policy has consistently made efforts to reduce smoking and increase the health of society. This policy gives an impact on tobacco farming until currently. These conditions encourage innovations on tobacco derivative products as a conceptualization of creative agribusiness beyond the farm businesses. This study aims to determine the purpose and direction of activities in the development of agrotourism as non-smoking tobacco derivative products in Jember. The research method uses a qualitative approach. In the first phase, in-depth literature studies and open interviews were conducted to obtain goals and directions in the development of non-smoking tobacco derivative products. The results were analyzed by using a geometric mean. The analysis result shows that the goal of maintaining the sustainability of tobacco agribusiness is an important direction in the development of agrotourism as a non-smoking tobacco derivative product. Sustainability needs to be supported by efforts to increase the income and welfare of farmers and families, increase the empowerment of tobacco farmers and their families, and maintain the sustainability of local and indigenous communities in tobacco agribusiness.

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“…The challenges of implementing comprehensive tobacco control lie in part within governments. Governments often have conflicting mandates and aims across sectors, where the health sector has a singular focus on implementing the most comprehensive tobacco control measures to reduce consumption, whereas the economic sector must consider the economic livelihoods of tobacco farmers and the macroeconomic dynamics of revenue generation and foreign exchange earnings [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. This perceived tension between economic and health aims, narrowly conceived, has created barriers to tobacco control in many countries, especially where tobacco is grown, processed or manufactured.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of the Policy and Market Landscape of Tobacco Production and Control in Mozambique

Nguenha¹,

Cunguara²,

Bialous

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Background: Tobacco growing has been considered a mainstay of Mozambique’s economy, but there is a dearth of analysis of the tobacco policy landscape in the country. Methods: Review of government and non-government documents and academic papers addressing Mozambique’s tobacco-growing history, the changes in the political economy of tobacco, and health policies addressing tobacco use and prevention of noncommunicable diseases. Results: Despite its tobacco growing and exporting history, the contribution of tobacco to the economy has been in steady decline in the past two decades, including in the areas dedicated to growing. At the same time there has been an increase in multinational control of the tobacco economy. In parallel, Mozambique’s commitment to addressing the growing burden of noncommunicable disease and accession to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control indicate a potential for internal government tensions to balance immediate economic interests with long term health goals. Conclusions: With the decline in tobacco share of the overall economy, Mozambique may be well-positioned to explore alternative, sustainable livelihoods for farmers that grow tobacco, but it must overcome inter-sectoral barriers and advocate for a whole of government approach to address the health and economic impact of tobacco.

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‘If you kill tobacco, you kill Malawi’: Structural barriers to tobacco diversification for sustainable development

Cited by 13 publications

References 23 publications

Tobacco farming: overcoming an understated impediment to comprehensive tobacco control

Tobacco farming: overcoming an understated impediment to comprehensive tobacco control

Reorienting the Goal and Direction of Tobacco Agrotourism Development in Jember Indonesia

An Overview of the Policy and Market Landscape of Tobacco Production and Control in Mozambique

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