Experts Advocate Tobacco-to-Crop Shift for Food Security

News Desk

Peshawar: Health, agriculture, and climate experts have called for a gradual shift from tobacco cultivation to food crops to address Pakistan’s worsening food insecurity, compounded by the 2022 floods and global supply chain disruptions triggered by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

They said converting tobacco farmland into crop production could help tackle food shortages affecting 36.9 percent of the population, while also reducing serious public health risks linked to tobacco consumption.

Waheed Ahmad, Patron-in-Chief of the Pakistan Fruits and Vegetable Importers and Exporters Association (PFVA), cited findings from the National Nutrition Survey 2018 showing that over one-third of Pakistanis face food insecurity. He added that the catastrophic floods of 2022 worsened the crisis, pushing an additional 2.5 million people into extreme hunger, raising the total to 8.6 million.

He noted that millions of acres of farmland were damaged during the floods, causing shortages of essential commodities and sharp price hikes. Despite being an agrarian country, Pakistan continues to import basic food items such as wheat, pulses, chickpeas, garlic, and ginger.

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Waheed warned that restrictions in arranging food imports or difficulties in opening letters of credit due to dollar shortages could further aggravate the situation, leading to increased prices and limited access to daily-use items for low-income families.

He endorsed the proposal to transform tobacco cultivation into food production and urged policymakers to capitalise on the 2023 theme of World No Tobacco Day 2023 — “Grow Food, Not Tobacco.” He called for research, supportive policies, and improved market conditions to encourage farmers to switch to food crops.

Taimoor Khan, General Secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Association for Excellence in Agriculture, said tobacco is cultivated on around 30,000 hectares in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He suggested that converting even half of this land to food crops, such as the garlic variety NARC G1 introduced by the National Agricultural Research Council in 2018, could significantly boost farmers’ incomes and reduce import dependence.

He claimed that farmers could earn up to Rs1 million per acre within seven months by cultivating NARC G1 garlic. In addition to garlic, he said, various vegetables and seasonal fruits could help strengthen food security and benefit farming communities.

Taimoor also challenged claims that tobacco farming substantially strengthens the economy through annual tax revenues of Rs120 billion. He argued that the estimated economic cost of tobacco-related diseases stands at around Rs615 billion annually — nearly three times the revenue generated.

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Aftab Alam Khan, CEO of Resilient Future International, said shifting to food production could create positive ripple effects by enhancing food security, improving public health, and protecting the environment. He noted that tobacco farming involves heavy pesticide and fertiliser use, contributing to soil degradation and reduced fertility.

However, he stressed the need to maintain the economic chain that currently supports tobacco growers by offering incentives and alternative market opportunities to encourage transition.

Highlighting health concerns, Dr Taj Muhammad of the Pakistan Chest Society said nearly 23.9 million adults in Pakistan use tobacco in some form, according to a 2018 survey by National Health Services. He added that about 163,600 deaths occur annually due to tobacco use, including nearly 31,000 caused by second-hand smoke exposure.

Dr Taj said tobacco accounts for 10.9 percent of all deaths in the country and welcomed initiatives aimed at redirecting resources toward food production, which could improve public health outcomes and encourage spending on nutritious items instead of harmful products.

Experts concluded that a coordinated policy framework, research support, and financial incentives are essential to facilitate a sustainable transition from tobacco to food crops and to address Pakistan’s dual challenge of food insecurity and tobacco-related health burdens.