Operationalizing evidence into action for providing viable crop diversification options to tobacco farmers in India - a compelling case for change
Journal Title: International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS) - Year 2014, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
India is the second largest consumer of tobacco globally. India also stands third in the production of tobacco. Use of tobacco poses a significant threat not only to health but also to social and economic fabric of families and communities. Besides, negative environmental impacts of tobacco cultivation at the local level lead to deforestation and soil degradation. Both supply side and demand side interventions are important to achieve effective tobacco control in India. International commitment in the form of ratification of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by the Indian Government shall galvanize the agricultural fraternity to seriously ponder on the economically viable and sustainable crop diversification options for tobacco growers. A lot of effort has gone into creating evidence on economically viable alternate crops to tobacco over a period of time. Various projects and programmes for alternative livelihoods to tobacco growing have been initiated around the world. However, the initiatives on provisioning viable alternative crop options for tobacco growers in India are generally limited to sporadic experiments carried out in research settings. A detailed plan of action at the field level needs to be drawn based on the recommendations of available research. In the prevailing Indian scenario, shift by the tobacco farmers to alternative crops in near future seems unrealistic. However, concerted efforts on part of the agricultural fraternity in India coupled with timely corollary initiatives from other stakeholder departments may transform today’s heresy into tomorrow’s new paradigm. This review aims to study the existing evidence base on alternate crops to tobacco so as to call on the policy makers in the country to take initiatives to operationalize this evidence into action for effective tobacco control in the country.
Authors and Affiliations
Jagdish Kaur, Arvind Vashishta Rinkoo, Sumitra Arora
Keywords
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