Outstanding tobacco growers honoured with TII awards
2 min read
Mysuru: The Tobacco Institute of India (TII) on Tuesday, organised the 23rd edition of the TII Tobacco Farmers’ Awards to felicitate the remarkable performance of farmers utilising modern, innovative and sustainable farming practices to enhance farm productivity and yield.
As many as 10 distinguished tobacco growers from Karnataka were honoured in four separate categories – ‘Lifetime’, ‘Best Farmer’, ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Recognition’.
Recognising the growing emphasis on sustainable agricultural practices in tobacco cultivation for higher efficiency, superior crop quality and protection of the environment, the Institute announced a new award category on Sustainable farming this year.
The awards ceremony was attended by Minister for Animal Husbandry and Sericulture, K Venkatesh; Member of Parliament Prathap Simha; Member of Legislative Council, AH Vishwanath; Members of the Legislative Assembly, A Manju, Anil Kumar Chikkamadu, Ravishankar D., GD Harish Gowda; Vice-Chairman, Tobacco Board, HC Basavraju; Executive Director, Tobacco Board, Dr. A Shridhar Babu; Director (Auctions), Tobacco Board, M Ashwini Naidu; Dr. SRamakrishnan, Principal Scientist & Head, ICAR-CTRI Research Station at Hunsur.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Sharad Tandan, Director, TII, said, that India is the second largest producer and a leading exporter of tobacco in the world. Tobacco provides livelihood to more than 4.5 crore Indians, including farmers and farm labourers. He informed the audience about the different varieties of tobacco grown in 13 states of India, including Flue Cured Virginia (FCV), Burley, Oriental, Bidi, Chewing etc.
Highlighting the potential of FCV in raising foreign export earnings, he said, “India is the third largest producer of FCV tobacco in the world with FCV being the most remunerative variety with huge export demand. Importantly, FCV tobacco accounts for only around 25 per cent of the country’s total tobacco production but contributes around 70 per cent of India’s overall leaf tobacco exports in value terms.”
According to reports, India’s leaf tobacco exports reached a record high during 2022-23 both in volume and value terms. India exported tobacco and tobacco products worth Rs 9,740 cr during the year. India has around 13 per cent share of the world’s tobacco production. However, it accounts for only 5 per cent value share of global tobacco leaf exports.
It is a matter of serious concern that overall FCV tobacco production in India dropped from a high of 316 million kgs in 2013-14 to 189 million kgs in 2021-22, causing losses of an estimated 35 million man-days of employment in the tobacco growing areas in the country. This massive drop in tobacco production in India has incentivized competitive leaf producing countries like Brazil, Zimbabwe, Vietnam etc. to increase their production.
-Team Mysoorunews
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