TOBACCO farmers in Sanand are going through fire. They are being forced to cultivate other cash crops due to a change in the consumer behaviour. And no, we are not referring to the tobacco used in cigarettes. This tobacco (tamaku) is special since it is processed with jaggery to make it less injurious to health. Treasured in small silver boxes, it used to be a status symbol decades ago and was used in smoking pipes and hookahs.
However, according to market sources, tobacco farming and production in the the region has decreased by atleast 50 per cent following a fall in demand over the last five years.
Says Himmatbhai Patel from Sanand, owner of Sinh Chhap Tamaku, ‘‘Our tobacco is specially produced for smoking pipes and hookahs. But the present generation does not like it as one needs accessories like a box to keep the tobacco, a smoking pipe and a match box or lighter. And this does not seem to suit their style.’’
‘‘Unlike in the past, when the older generation used to chew and smoke tobacco, the trend no longer exists. And that is why there’s hardly any demand for the product,’’ he adds.
Patel believes that the younger generation prefers gutkhas and cigarettes. ‘‘Our tobacco is grown only using rain water and processed with jaggery. This makes it less harmful to health as compared to cigarettes or gutkhas.’’
Today, the produce only goes to Saurashtra where smoking pipes and hookahs are very much in vogue.
According to tobacco farmers and merchants, earlier Sanand used to produce more than 10 lakh kg of tobacco. This has now come down to around 4 lakh kg.
‘‘Our annual turnover used to be Rs 5 crore. But it is only Rs 2 crore today,’’ says Himmatbhai Patel, a leading tobacco trader in Sanand.
Now, due to less demand for tobacco in the market, farmers have turned to cash crops like cotton, castor and cumin seed. Satish Patel, a farmer, says, ‘‘When there is less demand for tobacco in the market, farmers will obviously opt for other cash crops that can fetch good money.’’
Even traders are shifting from the business and so are the owners of popular brands.
Bhikhabhai Patel, a tobacco farmer and president of the Sanand Nagarpalika says,‘‘It is likely that tobacco production will cease to exist in Sanand in the next 10 years if this situation continues.’’
Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Ahmedabad chairman Babubhai Patel says,‘‘The tobacco industry in Sanand is crumbling down. The reason is that smoking pipes and hookahs are out of fashion.’’
APMC Vice Chairman Hitesh Barot says,‘‘At present there is more demand of Calcutti tobacco which is being produced in Charotar for manufacturing bidis and cigarettes.’’
But with the opening of hookah bars in urban areas, Himmatbhai Patel has some hope. ‘‘The trends keep changing. It is quite possible that the hookah culture might just provide us a new lease of life and revive our business,’’ he opines.
The downfall
While the tobacco business of Sanand has been decreased at least by 50 per cent the recent heavy floods in Central Gujarat has hit the remaining production further. Moreover, in the absence of seedlings sowing is not possible say farmers. Himmat Patel says,‘‘Whenever there is a shortage of seedlings, farmers bring it from around Anand. But this year, even that was not possible due to floods.’’