SWABI, Nov 18: The tobacco companies have reduced the tobacco quota (11.6 per cent) for the year 2002 and the tobacco growers have been asked to grow alternative crops, said an official of Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) and the officials of Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) and Lakson Tobacco Company (LTC) here on Sunday.

They said the tobacco growers were advised to cultivate alternative crops as the purchasers have shown considerable cut in their respective quota due to lack of export opportunities, slashing in cigarette selling and the continued US-led war against Afghanistan.

For the year 1999, they said, the PTB announced that the companies requirements were 52 million kg, 48 million kg for the year 2000, for 2001 the quota of FCV lowered by 47 per cent and for the year 2002 the total requirements were 45 million kg in which 44 million kg would be purchased by the PTC and LTC while the remaining 1 million kg by the small companies.

In the last three years, they added, the buyers had purchased about 35 million kg surplus tobacco which had become burden on them, exhausting the financial capabilities of the purchasers to buy more surplus tobacco in the next season.

They said like the past three years workshops would be held jointly by the companies and PTB to educate the people about the requirements of the companies and the gravity of the situation.

The alternative crops which they suggested are, vegetables, sugarcane, wheat, which can be grown by the tobacco growers instead of tobacco in their respective areas and they have to plan the tobacco production for the year 2002 according to the requirements of the buyers and not to cultivate tobacco without agreements.

“The growers were advised to cultivate G-399 tobacco verities only and they must avoid from growing other kinds of tobacco. The land should be thoroughly prepared for nursery”, said one of the officials, adding that seed sowing should be done on raised beds, weeding, thinning of the nursery may be carried out.

The beds should be covered with plastic sheets for protection against cold/frost and in case of pest attacks recommended fungicides/insecticides may be applied to shield the nursery.

The companies officials advised the growers to execute agreements with the tobacco companies of their choice and not to cultivate tobacco without agreement to avoid any growers-companies confrontation during the marketing season like in the past three years.

The PTC officials said they had started the registration of tobacco Bhattas across the district Swabi and for achieving this purpose the companies representatives have been visiting all tobacco growing localities. The purpose, they said was to execute agreements with only genuine growers of tobacco.

The growers alleged that the companies had issued agreements to the tobacco business community and the real growers were deprived.

The growers representatives demanded the issuance of agreements to only genuine grower and the promotion of exports of tobacco as the government had pledged on a number of occasions that tobacco would be made an exportable commodity.

They alleged that each year the companies raised bogey of surplus tobacco and then purchase the crop from the growers on low prices.

Growers demanded that tobacco crop’s future should be protected by the government and it should be exported like cotton and rice because it is the only cash crop with which the livelihood of thousands of families linked and the government has collected Rs 18 million through different taxes on tobacco each year.

They accused the PTV officials who remained in league with the companies provided opportunities to the buyers to violate the tobacco marketing law — MLO-487 and if this law was implemented in letter and spirit then their victimization may be checked.