Tobacco country waiting for exit plan

In the past, life on the tobacco farm was a good one – families worked hard and at the end of harvest were comfortably rewarded.

In the early 1970s, when I primed tobacco, 3,200 farmers were growing a record crop of 238 million pounds.

Notwithstanding some hurdles – poor weather conditions and disease – the crop size remained reasonably stable, at about 150 million pounds, into the 1990s.

That was then.

Since the mid ‘90s, crop size has been declining significantly and in 2005 dropped to an all-time low of 85.3 million pounds produced by about 650 farmers in Norfolk, Brant, Elgin and Oxford Counties.

The 2006 crop size has now been negotiated -- sadly, it has dwindled to a meagre 55.5 million pounds representing a loss of $60 million in gross revenue.

Government interference and uncompromising legislation, like the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, have contributed to this downturn on the farms and, in some cases, are forcing farmers out of their livelihood.

The Government of Canada signed the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and through its own aggressive policies, is committed to eliminating tobacco use in Canada. In addition Ontario has declared a war on tobacco.

Thus tobacco policy is not guided by agricultural ideals; rather it is driven by both the provincial and federal departments of Finance and Health.

However, governments, despite farmer despair, continue to collect record tobacco taxes. Last year provincial and federal governments harvested well over $9 billion in taxes. High taxes have created a hostile environment where much of the market has been pushed underground, and in order to compete, manufacturers import tobacco.

Governments have waged war on tobacco striving to eliminate all domestic sales and therefore eradicate a future for the industry.  And, all the while communities like Delhi – in what was once the heart of tobacco country – continue to erode. Over recent years, the doors of many businesses have closed. High schools and churches have been placed on the chopping block.

Other tobacco growing countries around the world have also embarked on anti-tobacco campaigns; however, Canada prides itself in being a leader in global tobacco control. Therefore, Canada should become a leader executing a full exit strategy that will fairly compensate tobacco farmers.  Our tobacco farmers can no longer produce tobacco under the current conditions.

Last year, 232 Ontario tobacco farmers and almost all Quebec producers took advantage of the Tobacco Adjustment Assistance Program (TAAP). I have yet to hear evidence that these tobacco farmers have put farmers of other commodities out of business – I think much of the money went to pay off Farm Credit and bank debt.

An exit plan is needed -- a plan that will meet the needs of tobacco farmers, governments, affected communities, tobacco manufacturers and other stakeholders.

All sales of tobacco products in Canada should fund an exit plan, not allowing anyone who sells tobacco in Canada to circumvent the rules and gain valuable competitive advantage – this also requires a crackdown on both counterfeit and contraband smokes.

Government has declared war on tobacco. War reparations are needed.

Tobacco country needs a long-term solution and farmers are tired of the hand-holding exercises. The exit from tobacco production should not provide any undue economic hardship on farmers in other fields, many of whom are already struggling to be profitable.