The Hindu Business Line : Farmers body seeks help to preserve brand image of Mysore tobacco

HELPED by the fact that the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSN) level in the cured leaf of the Mysore crop is said to be below the detectable limit, the Karnataka Light Soil (KLS) tobacco is acknowledged by buyers as "value for money" in the international market today. But the farmers of Periapatna, which accounts for 55 per cent of the tobacco grown in the State, are a worried lot.

Fearing drastic steps by the Centre which may hurt the industry adversely, and which in turn may affect auction prices and also seriously threaten the livelihood of millions of farmers in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the farmers' association has called for special steps both by the Tobacco Board and industry to maintain the brand image of Mysore tobacco.

Mr L. Anand, Hon. President, Karnataka Tobacco Growers' Forum, and a farmer himself, told Business Line that more auction platforms were needed for Mysore, considering the steady increase in stacks under the current year's production of over 70 million kg.

Some 44,000 growers are registered with the board in Karnataka for participation at auctions, accounting for as many as 55,704 curing barns.

Echoing the sentiments of majority of the farmers, Mr S.M. Anantharamu, President of Tobacco Growers' Forum, said tobacco crop simply could not be replaced in the KLS region, as other crops like ragi, maize etc have very low yields, which cannot cover the cost of cultivation.

Mr Manjuraj, Grading Officer of Tobacco Board presiding over Periapatna auction centre, said the board had earmarked a sum of Rs 3.43 crore for both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for development of infrastructure and other farm facilities.

According to Mr G. Krishna Kumar, Leaf Manager, Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Division of ITC Ltd, the division had introduced the concept of "Model Storages" to suit the tobacco conditioning and bulking requirements of a small farmer.

The project would build rural warehousing capacity to the tune of 4.7 million sq ft, and a storage capacity of 42 million kg by 2010.

He said in order to support the small farmers to own this facility, ITC-ILTD has coordinated with the Tobacco Board, the Central Tobacco Research Institute and various financial institutions to provide term loans at lower interest rates, besides providing 10 per cent of cost as subsidy.

Mr Kumar said Oriental Bank of Commerce had provided a term loan at 6.25 per cent interest. The first facility has already come up at Periapatna, and some 250-model storage facilities are being promoted during the 2004 crop season.