| Summary: | Background
Sustainable Agriculture
Development Programme is the main corporate social investment project of Ceylon
Tobacco Company (CTC). Kandy district is well known for its rich biodiversity
in Kandian home gardens. A hidden strategy of the project identified as it
introduce tobacco cultivation in home garden level after promoting few other
cash crops & animal husbandry for selected people with subsidies and technical
support. This study was carried out to reveal the need for new counter
strategies to address the negative impacts of the project and mitigate those to
discourage tobacco cultivation.
Objective: To recommend
counter measures against tobacco cultivation promotion through SADP project.
Methods
Case study was carried out in Kandy district where
SADP has implemented. The data was collected through secondary data sources
such as CTC annual report, Newspaper articles, websites, and books. The expert
opinions were obtained and group discussions held with farmers to make
recommendations in combating the negative impacts of SADP project.
Results
The recommended counter
measures consists of informing government officials regarding the negative
impacts of SADP, make people aware about the CTC strategies on how they
persuade people for tobacco farming, make people aware on consequences of
tobacco farming related economic, social and health issues in long run.
Conclusions
- CTC attempts to
promote tobacco cultivation in home garden level for some farmers in selected
communities.
- The social, economic
and environmental cost is high if the negative impacts of SADP are not
mitigated.
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