GENEVA: On Friday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) pledged to help more tobacco producers switch to food crops. This effort strengthens food security in Africa. The WHO and other UN agencies are helping tobacco producers shift to food plantations.
The WHO highlighted its work with UN agencies in helping tobacco producers switch to food production on World No Tobacco Day. The UN is duplicating Kenya’s successful pilot programme in other countries and continents.
The WHO’s health promotion director, Ruediger Krech, revealed that 349 million people are acutely food insecure, up from 135 million in 2019. He noted that 124 countries grow tobacco for income on 3.2 million hectares. Tobacco plantations clear 200,000 hectares of land annually.
Tobacco cultivation harms smokers and producers, but it also threatens food security, according to the WHO. Since 2005, tobacco plantations in Africa have increased roughly 20%, raising concerns about tobacco businesses’ impact. In Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and North Macedonia, tobacco cultivation accounts for less than 1% of GDP, hence Krech stressed the need to remove the idea that tobacco production boosts economic growth. Thus, transnational tobacco businesses profit more than local economies.
