Stop exploiting farmers, Reps tell BAT

Chiawo Nwankwo, Abuja

March 2004

Members of the House of Representatives from Oyo State have advised the Ibadan-based British-American Tobacco Company, to stop exploiting tobacco farmers in the state and to take measures to address the noxious fumes from tobacco processing, which is endangering their health. This warning came at a closed door meeting between lawmakers from the area and officials of BAT in Abuja on Friday, with the Chairman, House sub-committee on Public Health, Dr. G.D. Dantong in attendance.

The lawmakers, Dr. Wale Okediran, P.A Adeniran, Ade Adegbenjo and Jimoh Tijani, said they were compelled to meet BAT, having been “inundated with petitions from their constituencies” on alleged exploitation and inhuman treatment by the company.

The farmers had complained that BAT had purchased tobacco leaves from them at ridiculous prices for four years, which they said smacked of exploitation.

“Although the prices of materials used in the processing of tobacco have increased, thus pushing up overheads, BAT has not deemed it fit to increase the prices of tobacco, which had been stagnant for the past four years,” the farmers were quoted to have said in their petition.

Other complaints by the farmers include the demand by BAT that they dried tobacco leaves before selling.

They argued that this had exposed them to serious health hazards and had increased the deforestation of their area because of constant felling of trees for firewood.

The Public Affairs Manager of BAT, Mr. Tony Okwonji, while expressing the readiness of the company to address the issue of prices of tobacco leaves, stressed that it had fulfilled most of the promises made to the farmers.

These, he said, include provision of improved seedlings and other agricultural inputs.

The legislators told the firm to take the health fears raised by the farmers seriously by providing them with “protective wears in order to reduce the effects of tobacco fires during the drying process.”