Karnataka - Mysore   

Seminar on alternative crops to tobacco today

MYSORE: With a view to encouraging farmers to give up cultivation of tobacco and shift to other crops, the Tobacco Board will organise a seminar on “Alternative crops to flue cured variety tobacco” here on Thursday.

Regional Manager of Tobacco Board M.A. Huq told The Hindu that the seminar was aimed at discussing alternative crops to tobacco, whose cultivation in India was expected to be halved by 2020 in view of the country’s commitment to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

“India is a signatory to FCTC, sponsored by World Health Organisation (WHO), which seeks to halve the cultivation of tobacco by 2020. Hence, farmers, who stop tobacco cultivation, should be assisted in switching over to alternative crops,” Mr. Huq said. The board had announced a compensation package for tobacco farmers, who surrendered their tobacco cultivation licence. “In addition to the compensation, they will be provided assistance in switching over to alternative crops,” he said.

The seminar to be held at a resort on KRS Road will be attended by scientists from tobacco research and agricultural research institutes, besides officials from Agriculture, Sericulture and Horticulture departments.

The seminar will be inaugurated by board Chairman J. Suresh Babu. Introductory address will be delivered by board’s Executive Director Chandrakant B. Kamble. The keynote address will be delivered by Commissioner for Agriculture N. Manjunath Prasad. V. Krishnamurthy, Director of the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI), Rajahmundry, will introduce the theme of the seminar.

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