SWABI, Jan 10: Speakers at a seminar here on Saturday urged the tobacco growers to cultivate the crop according to the requirements of the tobacco purchasing companies.

The seminar on tobacco farming was attended by members of parliament, politicians, members of the Pakistan Tobacco Board, district government officials and leaf managers of the Pakistan Tobacco Company and the Lakson Tobacco Company, besides growers representatives.

Speaking on the occasion, MPA Amir Rehman said if the PTC and the LTC closed their purchasing centres, the growers would face many difficulties.

MPA Mukhtiar Khan in his speech said that tobacco was produced only in the Frontier province, adding that this was the reason the government took slight interest in making the crop an exportable commodity like rice and cotton.

He demanded that the government should make arrangements for the purchase of surplus tobacco and take steps for the solution of growers' problems.

PTB Secretary Khan Faraz admitted that tobacco remained the major cash crop of the area since 1950, saying that the growers should keep in mind the requirements of the tobacco purchasing companies and avoid producing surplus tobacco.