Tobacco Farmers Association FAIFA on Monday, November 10 decried its exclusion from a significant World Health Organisation (WHO) conference on Tobacco control. The association said that millions of Tobacco farmers were not able to gain exposure from the discussions that could help them in Tobacco cultivation and in their livelihoods. The Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) cited that the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) secretariat has dismissed the requests to attend the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11). Notably, the conference is scheduled for November 17.
“Tobacco Farmers are not the problem”- FAIFA President “
Tobacco farmers are not the problem. They are victims of policy decisions taken without their voice,” Said FAIFA President PS Murali Babu in a statement. He added: “It is severely disappointing that COP11 once again closed its doors on the farming community”. The FCTC secretariat dismissed the participation request cited the reason that farmers’ interests were not aligned with the convention’s objectives, as per FAIFA.
India- world’s largest producers and exporters of Tobacco
The group considered this reasoning illogical and discriminatory and said that Articles 17 and 18 of the FCTC mandate the protection of Tobacco farmers’ livelihoods and the promotion of practical alternatives. Notably, India is among the world’s largest producers and exporters of Tobacco, including Brazil, Zimbabwe, the US, and China. The FAIFA stated that around 36 million people rely on tobacco cultivation, curing, trading, and allied sectors in significantly growing states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana.
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