Tobacco cultivation and poverty linked
Disna Mudalige
|
Prof. Carlo Fonseka |
Going by the statistics in areas where the tobacco cultivation is
being carried out, it can be stated that tobacco cultivation has
contributed to increase the level of poverty, said National Authority on
Tobacco and Alcohol Chairman Prof. Carlo Fonseka at a media conference.
"Once they start the cultivation, they become highly dependent on
those tobacco companies. Compared to the cost of production, they get no
profit," he said.
Tobacco cultivation is also a threat to the environment.
"It increases soil erosion, and pollutes the environment since it
needs a high percentage of agrochemicals. It also needs a lot of water
to grow. It is one of the plants that consumes a high percentage of
water," he said. He also noted that people are unaware about these
facts, and are blindly bent on tobacco cultivation without much thought.
|
