For decades the leaf processing companies have been encouraging the farmers toward diversifying their activities, so as not to depend exclusively on one crop. The program “Corn, Bean and Pasturelands after Tobacco Harvest” gives the farmers the opportunity to make extra income, it is a soil conservation practice as it remains covered all year round. A recent survey attests that 74.8% grow corn, bean or soybean after tobacco harvest in the same area. In the past season, tobacco farmers’ earnings from the program exceeded R$ 650 million, in South Brazil.
In place since 1985, the program expects to involve all the tobacco growers in South Brazil, encouraging them to grow alternative crops, taking advantage of tobacco residual fertilizer, thus reducing production costs. Besides the field structure of the companies associated with the SindiTabaco, technicians of the partner entities will also do their part in promoting the advantages derived from these off-season crops.
With an eye on energy self-sufficiency and on remnant natural areas, the tobacco supply chain has been encouraging reforestation initiatives since the 1970s. Besides preserving the native forests and providing wood for curing their tobacco, farmers can turn surplus sales into an income source.
