CHARSADDA: Tobacco growers accused the local management of a multinational company of backing away from its procurement agreement by ‘refusing’ to purchase tobacco that farmers say meets the required quality standards.

Speaking at a protest demonstration held outside the company’s depot in Sardhery area, farmer representatives, including Fazal Rabi, alleged that depot staff had refused to accept clean and properly graded tobacco despite the growers having fulfilled the agreed procurement conditions.

They said the refusal had left hundreds of farming families facing financial hardship during the marketing season.

The protesters claimed that the depot staff had also behaved discourteously with farmers and, on several occasions, closed the office gates, preventing growers from entering the premises to present their grievances.

The speakers said tobacco was one of Charsadda’s principal cash crops and a major source of income for thousands of farming families. They added that tobacco production generated millions of rupees in taxes and revenue, making the crop an important contributor to the national economy.

The growers alleged that despite their contribution, they were being denied their contractual rights. They warned that the continued refusal to purchase tobacco would cause heavy financial losses to farmers who had invested substantial resources in cultivating the crop.

“The farming community is facing economic destruction,” a speaker said, adding that if the present situation continued, many growers would be forced to abandon tobacco cultivation altogether.

The protesters announced that they had started mobilising tobacco growers from across Charsadda and were contacting political parties and public representatives to build support for their demands.

They urged both the provincial and federal governments to intervene immediately, investigate the matter and ensure that procurement was carried out in accordance with the agreement reached with growers.

The farmers warned that if the company’s management did not revise its policy and begin purchasing tobacco without delay, they would stage a major protest at Farooq-i-Azam Chowk here.

The demonstrators maintained that their campaign would remain peaceful but vowed to continue their struggle until their demands were accepted. They stressed that the issue affected not only individual growers but also the region’s agricultural economy.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2026