15
Australian Blue Gum Eucalyptus, used in curing tobacco leaves, is not suitable for the conditions of central and eastern Africa. While taking up 150 litres of water a day, it does not easily release it again into the water cycle. Having recorded rainfall in this part of Africa for 10 years, I am convinced of an escalating catastrophe. The rain is reduced and delayed, stopping earlier and falling in more concentrated quantities, accelerating erosion. The soil is drying and becoming even more acidic. Long dry seasons are making it hard for this area to feed itself. Tobacco planters contract to plant 50 eucalyptus trees each year, and as they re-grow when cut, the landscape is fast becoming an African outback. The wood is good for little else than curing tobacco. It splits and twists if used for carpentry, is very smoky if used for cooking, and is quickly eaten by termites if used for building. The workload of tobacco growing is heavily loaded on the women and children: planting, carrying water for the seedbeds, weeding. Even at harvest, the women carry the loads from the fields. The dollars, meanwhile, are pocketed by the men of the household. Yet women are also responsible for daily food on the table. Once growers have committed their 1.5 acres to tobacco, they have to rely on food markets. This needs money, so mother struggles to raise what she can, sometimes being driven to selling the girls for prostitution while the men, rather than budgeting for the family will often binge on luxuries, enjoying the rare experience of a bulging wallet. Families go abandoned for months, and some fathers never return.
“Often we see well-built brick drying kilns towering above a small mud and wattle house with leaking roof. Farmers are usually poor and poorly-educated, seeking a ‘leg up’ to a better life”
Often we see well-built brick drying kilns towering above a small mud and wattle house with leaking roof. Farmers are usually poor and poorly-educated, seeking a ‘leg up’ to a better life. He has to enter into a contract with the company. If he defaults, the debt burden often leads to imprisonment.
transport of seed and other supplies to a local collecting point, and take cured leaves from them, and they guarantee a market for the product. Transport and markets are always a big issue for farmers. Reliable payments are made on time and planter groups offer tremendous camaraderie. So what can the Church offer in their place?
The contract gives the farmer a pre-season loan, covering seed, fertilizer, sprays, watering cans, tools and a metal drying chimney. But is he aware the cost is offset against crop payments? He must plant one acre of tobacco and 50 eucalyptus trees, tying up most of his land. He is obliged to sell to the company at a fixed rate (so cannot seek the best price), whatever the yield and however hard the season. On average, one acre will produce 600 kg, giving an equivalent £22 per month, less than the wage of a night watchman (who still has his land and freedom).
Surely camaraderie, mutual support, community spirit and unity should be found within our church fellowships. Church-based literacy projects can increase levels of understanding and self-esteem. But what can we offer on the business side? How can we improve family incomes? What can we do to improve household food security? What of marketing and agricultural inputs? These are areas of urgent concern, and we are seeking to address them in our agricultural development programmes supported by CMS.
Cash crops have their place, and are undeniably important to a nation. Tobacco companies offer
A longer, more in-depth version of this story can be found at www.cms-uk.org/yes