Women in Tobacco Farming: Health, Equality, and Empowerment

A study conducted in China, Tanzania and Kenya

Teh-wei HU
Anita H LEE

Center for International Tobacco Control

Public Health Institute
Oakland CA

Report prepared for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

October 2016
 Acknowledgement

This study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The authors are grateful for
assistance provided by project collaborators: In China, Dr. Xiaoliang Li, Director of the Yunnan
Pioneers for Health Consultancy Center and her colleagues Ms Hong Cao, Ms Weilin Xie, and Ms
Jie Zhao, and Professor Zhengzhong Mao at the Sichuan University. In Kenya, Dr. Vincent
Kimosop, Director of the International Institute of Legal Affairs (until January 2016), and his
colleagues Kennedy Kirui, Philip Nyakundi Gichana, and Wycliffe Kigani Avuzika; and in
Tanzania, Professor Asmerom Kidane of University of Dar es Salaam and his colleagues
Professors Aloyce Shaban Hepelwa, and Kenneth Mdadila.The authors would also like to thank
Ms Jean Paullin, Program Officer, Global Policy and Advocacy, at the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, for her insightful comments and advice throughout the duration of the study.
 Table of Content

Executive Summary (p. 1-2)

I. Background and significance of the study (p. 3-4)

2. Objectives of the study (p.5-6)

3. Methodology (p. 7)

4. The study in Yunnan province in China (p. 8- 17)

5. The Study in Tabora Region in Tanzania (p. 18- 25)

6. The Study in Migori and Embu Counties in Kenya (p. 26-35)

7. Summary and recommendations (p. 36-40)

8. Recommendations and Future Program Development (p. 41- 44)

Appendix 1 Quotations from focus group discussions (p.45-51)

Appendix 2 Some photos taken during field work

 Executive Summary
This study is to provide quantitative data and qualitative information of women's role in
tobacco farming, including their labor input, health knowledge and status, and economic
empowerment and entitlement. Findings will provide evidence-based information for
tobacco control advocates, policy makers, and funders to develop gender-aware programs, and
programs for the improvement of livelihood of women farmers.

Three countries have been chosen for the study: China, Tanzania, and Kenya. China is the
largest tobacco leaf production country in the world. Tanzania is the second largest tobacco
growing country in Africa. Kenya has mostly small scale tobacco farming. Approximately 400
women tobacco farmers were interviewed in each country. Major findings are as follows:

Labor input

In China, respondents spent 30-50 percent of their time in tobacco farming while their
husbands only spent 30 percent. During the tobacco farming season, women work 16+ hours in
the field. On average, women spent 6 to 8+ hours in the farm while their husbands spent about
4 to 5 hours. Where there was payment of a wage, as in the case of temporary laborers ,
women made less than the men (US$8 for women per day vs US$11 for men ). In Tanzania and
Kenya, women spent about equal amount of time (between 40-50 percent) as their husbands
when farming tobacco. However women spent additional time for child bearing and household
chores. From their responses, it was found that transplanting, seeding, watering, and search for
firewood were particularly laborious.

Health knowledge and health status

About 40 percent of the respondents in China and almost 60 percent of Tanzania respondents
were not aware of negative health effects of tobacco farming. 20 percent of the respondents
in Kenya said they were not aware of negative health effects.

It was also found that there is no knowledge of the negative health impact on the unborn child
as over 70 percent of the respondents in both Tanzania and Kenya had worked in the tobacco
farm when they were pregnant, and even up to six months of pregnancy or more. Besides not
being aware of the harmful effect, these women farmers continue to farm in their pregnancy
because of the importance of their labor input to the family’s livelihood.

Respondents indicated they have experienced vomiting while curing tobacco leaf and back
problem from carrying water and firewood. A number of other symptoms associated with
green tobacco sickness were also indicated, although the respondents did not associate such
issues with tobacco farming.

1
Economic empowerment and entitlement

Compared to women in Africa, Chinese women farmers had more decision making power. The
overwhelming majority are decision makers or joint decision makers regarding the farming
activity and finances were women. Almost 55 percent of Chinese respondents were the sole
signatory to the contract with tobacco companies with access to bank accounts and the
payment from the tobacco company. The situation in the Tanzania and Kenya was very
different. Only a few of the respondents had such access. Only 14 percent of respondents in
Tanzania and 23 percent of respondents in Kenya made decisions regarding finances.

The respondents’ average annual income from tobacco farming ranged from US$2,240 in China
to US$990 for Tanzania, and US$299 for Kenya respondents. The average loan for Chinese
household was US$448, $500 for Tanzania household, and $200 for Kenya household. No
continuous cycle of indebtedness was reported from Chinese households. In Tanzania 10
percent of households were in continuous indebtedness – meaning they could not repay debt
year-on-year; this was true for 20 percent for Kenya households.

For the key indicators of land ownership and ownership of their dwelling, only a handful of the
respondents in both African countries have ownership. These were mainly widows in female
headed households. For women who were in male headed households in Tanzania, slightly
above 10 percent owned the land and the house, while none in the Kenyan sample had
ownership. Without this collateral, the women faced few, if any, choices for access to credit.

A common complaint among the respondents in all three countries studied was that they were
treated unfairly by the tobacco company. Their feeling of powerlessness and being exploited
came through in the qualitative information.

Recommendations

Based on the above findings, this report recommends that women tobacco farmers need to be
provided with support to improve their livelihood and to engage in other crops as an alternative
to tobacco. Many do not want to continue farming tobacco. Education opportunities,
knowledge about health risks of tobacco farming and protective measures, training on
communication and assertive skills as well as better access to water and energy resources will
go a long way towards improving the livelihood of these women. There is also the need to
provide the knowledge and technical support for these farmers to grow crops other than
tobacco and to provide the infrastructure for them to market these crops. Better access to
loans and helping these women to form cooperatives will empower them. A multi-dimensional
approach is needed in this endeavor. The involvement of governments, advocates, non-
governmental organizations, the private sector, local agencies, and the farmers themselves
will be of importance.

2
I. Background and significance of the study

“Women and girls are more likely to be impoverished, less likely to get an
education and more likely to suffer bad health. And when they’re born into
poverty, it’s much more difficult for them to lift themselves and their families
out of it.”

Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Why Poverty Is Sexist,
Time Magazine, March 2016.1

According to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report on the role of
women in agriculture, women comprise about 43 percent of the agricultural labor force globally
and developing countries, and almost 50 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Variations exist across
regions, among countries and crops. Overall the labor burden of rural women exceeds that of
men, and includes a high proportion of unpaid household responsibilities related to preparing
food and collecting fuel and fetching water. It should be noted that official figures of women’s
labor participation are often an under-estimation. Women tend to say that their home is their
primary responsibility even though they are heavily involved in activities such as rearing
livestock, gardening for home consumption etc. Censuses also tend to emphasize income-
generating activities, and therefore underestimate subsistence production.2

The focus of this study is on women tobacco farmers in China, Tanzania and Kenya. Growing
tobacco leaf is labor intensive. Preparing seedbeds, sowing, transplanting, weeding, fertilizing,
harvesting, curing the leaf etc are all essentially back-bending manual labor. It is believed that a
significant portion of the labor is undertaken by women, particularly in developing countries.
There is however little empirical evidence to show the plight of these women and the
challenges they face. A study of women farmers working in tobacco fields can inform
governments and advocates of women’s wellbeing and ways to address this issue.

The tobacco epidemic is well recognized as the number one preventable public health problem
in the modern era. In addition to the many strategies aimed at reducing the demand for
cigarettes, tackling the problem from the supply side is deemed to be of equal importance. The
World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005 has
stipulated that efforts are needed to provide economically viable alternatives to tobacco
farmers. Yet, world production of tobacco leaf has steadily increased since the FCTC. In 2012,

1
http://time.com/4262483/why-poverty-is-sexist/
2
FAO ESA Working Paper No. 11-02 March 2011 “The Role of Women in Agriculture”

3
nearly 7.5 million tonnes3 of tobacco leaf was grown on almost 4.3 million hectares4 of
agricultural land.5

Many countries, especially developing ones, regard tobacco farming as a good thing. It brings
in much needed revenue to the government, provides employment for the rural population,
earns foreign exchange for the country, and cash income for individual farmers. Often
forgotten in the equation, however, is the fact that many tobacco farmers live in poverty, the
environmental toll to the land, the health hazards to the farmers, and the health costs to the
country.

High income countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, have transitioned their
agricultural economies in response to the national reduction in cigarette consumption and the
increasing awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco farming. A shift in tobacco leaf farming
from developed countries to the developing world can be seen. In the developing world,
tobacco farming is on the increase. China is the world’s leader in tobacco production,
responsible for 42.6 percent of the world’s total in 2012.6 Three of the top ten tobacco leaf
producers are in Africa: Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe7.

There is only minimal information on the likely disproportionate and harmful impact tobacco
farming has on women farmers. A deeper understanding of the female role in the tobacco
farming landscape will broaden the evidence base on gender dynamics in tobacco and
strengthen tools available to tobacco control advocates, policymakers, and funders in
developing gender-aware programs.

3
1 metric tonne = 1.10231 US ton
4
1 hectare = 2.47105 acres
5
Tobacco Atlas fifth edition http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/topic/growing-tobacco/
6
Tobacco Atlas fifth edition
7
FAOSTAT 2012. http://faostat.fao.org/

4
2. Objectives of the study

This study aims at providing a better understanding of gender inequality in tobacco farming,
including any negative health, economic, or empowerment outcomes for women tobacco
farmers, thereby contributing to a richer and stronger evidence base around women's unique
role in tobacco farming.

Specifically, the study will gather quantitative data on these farmers and include topics such as:

 Women's knowledge level of and their attitude towards the health hazards in the
tobacco farming processes, as well as their health condition and access to women's
health care services.
 The extent of women's participation in tobacco farming and laboring.
 Women's role in any decision making regarding tobacco farming and laboring.
 Income level and employment structure with regards to farming and laboring, as well as
access to earnings from tobacco farming.
 Women's interaction directly and indirectly with the tobacco industry.
 Women’s entitlement of their household income allocation and assets

Three countries are included in this study: China, Tanzania and Kenya. China is by far the top
producer of tobacco leaf in the world with an output of 3.2 million tonnes in 2012.8 It has
about 5 million farm households engaged in growing tobacco.9 The area devoted to tobacco
farming has been stable at around 1.4 million hectares in the last ten years.10 Tanzania ranks
8th among tobacco leaf producers according to FAO Statistics for 2012, producing 120,000
tonnes, and is second only to Malawi among African countries. With agriculture accounting for
a quarter of the country’s GDP, 85 percent of its exports and employing 80 percent of the
country’s workforce11, tobacco farming is an important part of the country’s economy, and is
the country’s second most important export among food and agricultural products in 2011.12
Kenya is as yet not an important producer of tobacco leaf, producing 15,000 tonnes in 2012. It
is chosen as the third country in this study, working with a partner organization that has been
involved in tobacco control policies in the country. Findings from each of these countries are
presented in this report in the order of the magnitude of their tobacco leaf production. Table 1
shows the tobacco leaf production, export value of the leaf as well as the role of tobacco leaf in
the agriculture export economy of these three countries.

8
Tobacco Atlas Fifth Edition http://www.tobaccoatlas.org/topic/growing-tobacco/
9
China Agriculture Yearbook (2013). State Bureau of Statistics. China Agricultural Press
10
FAO STAT 2012
11
The World Fact Book - CIA https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
12
FAO STAT 2012

5
 Table 1: Comparison of
Tobacco Leaf Production, Export Value, and Role in Agriculture Economy
China, Tanzania and Kenya

Year China Tanzania Kenya

Area harvested (hectares) 2012 1,480,000 156,000 23,000

Production (tonnes) 2012 3,200,000 120,000 15,000

2011 3,157,000 130,000 14,000

Export quantity (in tonnes) 2011 224,000 74,022 6,225

(as a percentage of country’s total (7%) (57%) (45%)
tobacco leaf production)

Export value (in US$1,000) 2011 652,000 106,585 21,783

Rank of tobacco leaf export among 2011 14 2 12

agricultural product exports (by value)

Source: FAO Statistics 2011 and 2012

6
3. Methodology

The study in all three countries employed a mix-method design, using a quantitative method in
the form of a structured questionnaire, as well as qualitative methods including focus group
discussions and key informant interviews. Findings from such discussions enable researchers to
gain a deeper understanding of the impact of tobacco farming on the livelihood and health of
the farmers. A sample of the opinions expressed in these focus groups and key informant
interviews is at Appendix 1.

The target is to survey 400 woman tobacco farmers in each country. The decision on a sample
size of 400 in each country is based mainly on time and resource availability. It is also
considered that 400 is a large enough sample for statistical analysis. All three study teams used
a broadly similar questionnaire which has been designed based on literature review of farm
studies conducted in China and Indonesia by Principal Investigator. The questionnaires are
broadly divided into the following sections: sociodemographic characteristics, labor input,
health knowledge and access to health facilities, decision making and empowerment.

Refinements tailored to local context and specific objectives of this study were made. Pre-tests
provided useful information to fine-tune the questionnaires. All three study teams conducted a
pilot study before the actual fieldwork. In addition to the quantitative survey, the open ended
questions and/or focus group discussions and key informant interviews provided useful insights
to supplement the quantitative data.

In order to obtain the consent of county officials at the study sites in China, it was agreed that
the names of the two counties in the study will be anonymized for external readership. In this
report, they will be referred to as “County A” and “County B”. No such limitations were placed
on the names of the regions in Tanzania and Kenya when their consent was obtained to
conduct the study.

In China, the study included structured questionnaire survey of 243 farmers in County A and
193 farmers in County B, making up a total of 436 respondents. In Tanzania, 408 female
farmers, who were either spouses of male-headed households or female heads of households,
were interviewed. In Kenya, 419 respondents were interviewed for the quantitative survey.
There are also 20 focus group discussions comprising of 10-12 respondents and 20 key
informants for qualitative interviews.

Fieldwork for all three countries were conducted in late 2015 and early 2016. A gallery of
photos taken during the fieldwork or provided by the collaborators is at Appendix 2.

7
4. The study in Yunnan province in China

4.1 Study sites

The backdrop to any discussion of tobacco farming and tobacco industry in China is to the fact
that tobacco is a state owned monopoly. Tobacco farmers sell only to the government, and the
whole process of tobacco farming, including seed supply, planting areas, pricing and
procurement of tobacco leaves, are all fully controlled by the China National Tobacco
Corporation and its subsidiaries in different provinces. Tobacco farmers have little autonomy
over the crop production and transaction.

The study was conducted in two counties in the Yunnan province in China. Situated in the
southwestern part of China, Yunnan is a region known for its many ethnic minorities. The
province is the most important tobacco producing province in the country, accounting for 60
percent of tobacco planting area in the country. 13 Tobacco farming areas in Yunnan are divided
into two categories: old tobacco farming areas and new tobacco farming areas. Two counties in
this province were chosen as study sites: County A in southwestern Yunnan, a new tobacco
farming area, and County B in northeastern Yunnan, an old tobacco farming area. Figure 1
shows the location of the study sites.

Figure 1: Study Sites in China

County A County B

13
A Brief Review of Tobacco Farming in Yunnan, Zhou Haiyuan,
http://www.tobaccochina.com/tobaccoleaf/roundup/synopsis/201311/2013111982945_595018.shtml, November
25,2013.

8
 County A

Tobacco farming was introduced to this county by the local government in 2008. Various
measures were introduced to provide incentives to farmers. For example, the government
would provide RMB150 (US$22)14 per mu15 as subsidy. Tobacco farmers would also have
priority when the poverty alleviation office provides low-interest micro-credit. For migrant
farmers who grow over 15 mu of tobacco, the government would provide settlement allowance
of RMB500 (US$75) per household. Local farmers who were reluctant to grow tobacco could
rent the land to migrant farmers and the rent should not exceed RMB250 (US$37) per mu.
Township and county officials need to pay a sum as guarantee to ensure that tobacco
procurement target can be met. These guarantee amounts are in the range of several thousand
RMB (hundreds of US dollars), depending on the level of the official. The guarantee money will
only be returned to these officials when the production targets are met. They will also get a
bonus.16

Currently, this county produces Turkish tobacco which only serves the export market. In 2015,
the total tobacco farming area in County A is 12,500 mu.

County A

Area: 394 square miles

Total population: 200,000 (2011)
Ethnicity: Dai is the biggest ethnic
group, accounting for 33.2% of the total
population.
Annual net income of rural residents:
RMB6, 420 (US$960) per capita (2013)
and is slightly higher than the provincial
average.
Agriculture: Traditionally, Dai people
here are excellent rice growers as the
land is flat and fertile. In the past two
decades, tropical fruits have also
become popular.

14
1 RMB (Chinese Yuan) is converted to US$ using current exchange rate for the purpose of this report. US$ 1 =
RMB 6.71.
15
1 mu = 0.165 acre , 0.067 hectare, or, or 0.00026 sq. mile. Mu is the commonly used unit for farm area in
China.
16
Opinion on 2012 Turkish Tobacco Production, County A Government, 2011
http://ynxxgk.yn.gov.cn/M1/View.aspx?int_Document_ID=1822523&int_DepartmentID=1

9
 County B

County B is situated in the Qujing prefecture in the northeastern part of Yunnan. With a long
tobacco farming history, this prefecture is regarded as “the biggest tobacco leaf producing area
not only in China, but also in Asia”17. In 2015, the total tobacco farming area in this county is
259,300 mu.18

County B
Area: 2,344 square miles
Population: 1.5 million (2012)
Ethnicity: The majority is Han Chinese
Annual net income of rural residents:
RMB5,552 (US$828) per capita, and is
lower than the provincial average.
Agriculture: Tobacco is the main crop.

4.2 Data sources and sociodemographic characteristics

Fieldwork was conducted in October and November 2015 in County A and County B
respectively, using a convenience sampling method. Respondents were identified through
personal contact with village and town officials, village doctors, as well as tobacco farming
technicians who are villagers hired by the tobacco corporation to supervise and support
tobacco farmers.

Table 2 shows the sociodemographic characteristics of the study sample of 436 women.
Information obtained is based on self-report only. Where the questions in the survey related to
the husband, there are between 427 to 434 responses, and these were reported by the women
respondents. The average age of the respondents is 45 years, with a standard deviation of 11
years. In general, the education standard is low: 36 percent do not have any formal education,
while slightly under half has education up to 6 years. The average size of the household is 4.5
people. About half of the respondents have been tobacco farmers for 5 to 9 years, 10 percent
for 10 to 19 years, and 30 percent have been in tobacco farming for over 20 years. The size of
their tobacco farm varies considerably, ranging from 0.5 mu to 30 mu. The median is 3 mu.19

17
Exploring and Developing Tobacco Leaf Culture in Qujing, Zhang Hong, Qujing Daily, Jan 22, 2016.
http://epaper.qjrb.cn/html/2016-01/22/content_63460.htm
18
Management of Tobacco and Cigarette Production Achieve Good Results, Zhou Kaiping, Qujing Daily, Feb 15,
2016. http://epaper.qjrb.cn/html/2016-02/15/content_65006.htm
19
3 mu is 0.2 hectares or 0.4942 acres

10
Farming areas for these villages have decreased in recent years. With the economic growth and
urbanization of the country in recent decades, more job opportunities exist for farmers to work
in urban areas and earn higher income. This is in line with the general decrease in tobacco
farming areas in the country as a whole. The area harvested for tobacco farming has been on a
downward trend from almost 2 million hectares in the early 1990s to under 1.5 million hectares
in 2012.20

In trying to understand the economic status of the respondents, researchers used the method
employed in WHO’s Global Adult Tobacco Survey for China in 2010.21 A list of 10 items,
consisting of electric appliances, telecommunication devices, vehicles etc, were given to
respondents, and for each item that the respondent has, one point is given. Those who scored
5 or below are considered as low income, 6 – 7 is middle income, and 8 and above will be
considered as high income. They were also asked to describe their own living standard as
poorer, middle income, or better than others in the village.

Table 2: Sociodemographic Characteristics of Study Sample in Yunnan

N = 436 women respondents

Average age of respondents 45
Education level of respondents
Did not have any 35.8%
Education up to 6 years 47.9%

Average household size 4.5

Median size of tobacco farm 3 mu
(0.2 hectares)
Years in tobacco farming
Less than 5 year 11.9%
5-9 years 47.9%
10-19 years 10.3%
Over 20 years 29.8%
Economic status
Low income 36.9%
Middle income 46.6%
High income 16.5%
Self-reported living standard
Poor 35.3%
Medium 62.2%
Good 2.5%
Source: study survey

20
FAOSTAT 2012
21
Methodology of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey — 2008–2010 Global Health Promotion. 2016 Jun;23(2
Suppl):3-23.

11
4.3 Labor Input in Tobacco Farming

Women spend 30-50 percent of their time on tobacco farming while their husband only spend
30 percent. According to the interviews, women tobacco farmers in County A usually work 16.8
hours a day in tobacco farming season. On average, women worked 8.4 hours a day and their
husband worked 5 hours a day. In County B, women tobacco farmers usually work 16 hours a
day during the tobacco farming season. On average, women work 6.4 hours a day and their
husband work 4.8 hours a day.

The lack of labor is often cited by the respondents as one of the big challenges or difficulties of
tobacco farming. The hiring of temporary help or laborers is common. Women temporary
laborer earn on average RMB55 (US$8.20) a day, compared to the average of RMB78 (US$11.6)
for male laborers. Farmers also “exchange” labor with their neighbors, which means helping
each other without pay, and/or supplementing each other’s deficiency at different times of the
farming cycle. The questionnaire did not ask the proportion of women to men for the
temporary laborers. But bearing in mind that a lot of men in villages go to urban areas to work
for a salary, it is surmised that most of the temporary laborers are women.

As can be seen from Table 3, the women farmers are working all day long in various activities.
Compared with the men in the household, they have a busier time. That also means the
women have less time for themselves for self-enriching activities, or take care of their own
health and wellbeing. The survey asked the respondents their participation in different stages
of tobacco farming, as well as their husband’s level of participation. The results in table 4 gives
an even clearer picture of the difference in labor input between the men and the women.

Table 3: Percentage of Time Spent on Agricultural Activities and Housework

by Female Tobacco Farmers and Their Husbands
in Study Sample in Yunnan
(Percentage)

Female Husband*
Farmer
N=436 N=432
Tobacco farming 50 30
Other crops farming 20 20
Housework 20 10
Livestock raising 10 10
Source: study survey

* The percentage for the husbands do not add up to 100%. The likely reason is that they work
outside the farm

12
 Table 4: Participation* in Tobacco Farming by Different Family Members Last Year
in Study Sample in Yunnan
(percentage)

Female Husband
Farmer
N=436 N=432
Seeding Not participate 19.5 48.4
Fully participate 69.0 36.2
Transplanting Not participate 5.5 30.4
Fully participate 81.9 51.2
Water, weed, spray Not participate 8.7 35.7
Fully participate 76.4 46.5
Harvesting Not participate 4.6 34.1
Fully participate 82.8 49.8
Curing Not participate 11.9 35.3
Fully participate 66.1 50.9
Sorting Not participate 9.4 31.8
Fully participate 75.2 56.0
Selling Not participate 14.9 32.3
Fully participate 75.7 59.0
Source: study survey

*Respondents were asked the extent to which they and their husbands participate, in the various stages
of tobacco farming. Their answer could be “do not participate”, “participate partially”, “participate half
the time”, “mostly participate” and “fully participate”. The data presented in this table only report the
first and last categories.

4.4 Health Status and Health Service Use

In response to the question of whether they think tobacco farming has affected their health, 31
percent of the women did not think there is any effect. 28 percent and 36 percent respectively
said there are minor effect or some effect, while 5 percent of the respondents did not know.
But when they were asked whether they have experienced various discomforts, half
experienced dizziness, and 33 percent have experienced headaches. See Table 5. It is likely
that the women do not associate these discomforts with tobacco farming as their knowledge
level is low, although the symptoms that the respondent were presented with in the

13
questionnaire are symptoms of what is described as green tobacco sickness.22 The women also
gave information on whether their husbands experienced such discomforts. As can be seen
from Table 5, the men did not experience as much discomforts. This is to be expected, as their
participation in various stages of the tobacco farming process is less than that of the women.

Table 5: Discomforts in the Course of Tobacco Farming among

Respondents and Their Family Members
in Study Sample in Yunnan

Percentage
Female Farmers Husbands*
(N=430) (N=427)
Dizziness 50.0 13.3
Headache 33.7 13.3
Nausea 16.5 2.8
Skin allergy 14.2 3.0
Vomit 8.8 2.1
Bellyache 2.3 1.4
Salivation 0.9 0.5
Pesticide poisoning 0.2 0.2
Source: study survey

* Husbands’ data as reported by women respondents

Accessibility to health care services can be considered as good, as there is coverage for all
under China’s rural cooperative medical scheme, which aims to provide universal coverage for
rural population. As of the end of 2012, 98 percent (800 million people) of the country’s rural
population is covered under the Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (RCMS).23 Each village has
a health station and there are also private practitioners. Even with the insurance scheme, out-
of-pocket health care expenditure can be a significant proportion of the farmer’s income. Over
half of the respondents have spent more than RMB3000 (US$448) in the previous year on
health care in their household. National data shows that in 2011, the per capita out-of-pocket

22
Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS) is a type of nicotine poisoning caused by the dermal absorption of nicotine from
the surface of wet tobacco plants. Tobacco harvesters, whose clothing becomes saturated from tobacco wet with
rain or morning dew, are at high risk of developing GTS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Tobacco_Sickness
23
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2014. Progress and challenges of the rural cooperative medical
scheme in China. http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/6/13-131532/en/

14
health care expenditure for rural population is RMB437 (US$65).24 As the household size is
approximately 4 or 5 people, the out of pocket health care expenditure for the household from
the national data is about RMB2200 (US$325). It can be postulated that the tobacco farmer’s
family has a higher out of pocket health care expenditure as other farm families. The study did
not however explore the reason for this, nor can a causal relationship be established.

4.5 Empowerment and Entitlement

Women “hold up half the sky” is a proclamation often quoted in China, meaning that women
are equal to men in the new republic. This is in contrast to the traditional Confucian society
which adheres to very patriarchal principles and philosophy. Compared to respondents in
Tanzania and Kenya, the women in these farming households in China are more empowered:
almost all the respondents know how much money was spent on tobacco farming and how
much was made from tobacco farming. Women are also highly involved in decision making
about what crops to grow. Table 6 shows that 41.7 percent of the respondents made the
decision on their own, and 33.7 percent made the decision together with their husbands. This
means that the overwhelming majority of women are the decision makers, or are the joint
decision maker with the husband. More than half of the women are the signatory to the
contract for the tobacco corporation. Being the contract signatory means a bank account
would be opened in their names and the tobacco corporation would transfer the income of
tobacco to that bank account.

Table 6: Decision Makers and Tobacco Farming Contract Signatory

in Respondents’ Families in Study Sample in Yunnan

N = 436 women Percentage

respondents
Decision maker
Female farmer 41.7
Husband 15.4
Both 33.7
Other 9.2
Contract signatory &
collect revenue
Female farmer 54.6
Husband 33.9
Other 11.5
Source: study survey

24
National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China
http://www.nhfpc.gov.cn/htmlfiles/zwgkzt/ptjnj/year2013/pdf/fl1.pdf

15
4.6 Tobacco Leaf Production Financing and Alternative Crops

Survey results show that the median income from tobacco farming for the household is
RMB10,000 (US$1490), with the 25 percent quartile earning RMB6,000 (US$896) and the 75
percent quartile earning RMB20,000 (US$2980). Tobacco farming is not the only source of
income for these farming households: on average it contributes about 25 percent to 30 percent
of the household’s income. There is income from other cash crops, wage labor, livestock raising
and other sources. Thus income from tobacco farming is influenced by a host of reasons. The
size of the farm, and the proportion of the farm devoted to farming tobacco are also important
factors. On average among the respondents, annual income from tobacco farming is
RMB15,022 (US$2240).

Table 7: Biggest Difficulty in Tobacco Farming

for Respondents in Study Sample in Yunnan

N = 436 women respondents Percentage

Natural disasters 35.0

Labor-consuming 25.0
Lack of laborer 17.8
Not allowed to grow more 9.1
Unfair grading 7.5
Lack of money to buy agricultural 2.8
supplies
Lack of skills 0.9
Other reasons 1.9
Source: study survey

62.4 percent of respondents said they needed to borrow money for tobacco farming. The
average loan is RMB3000 (US$448), but the range could be from several hundred RMB to tens
of thousands. 35 percent of the respondents cite natural disasters as the biggest challenge in
growing tobacco, and 25 percent cite the labor intensive nature of tobacco farming as the
biggest difficulty.

Despite these challenges, 72.9 percent of the respondents said they definitely will continue to
grow tobacco next year, while 19.3 percent said that they probably will. Only 7.8% said that
they definitely will not be growing tobacco again. The fieldwork shows that the perceived high
profit is the main motivation for planting tobacco, followed by habitual practice and request
from authorities. See Table 8.

16
 Table 8: Reasons for Growing Tobacco
for Respondents in Study Sample in Yunnan
(N = 436 women respondents)

Percentage

High profit 75.9

Habitual practice 36.2
Government’s request 22.0
Family members want to grow 16.5
Government’s subsidy 8.9
Sufficient laborers 3.2
Other reasons 12.4
Source: study survey

It would seem that the farming of tobacco leaf is so institutionalized that despite the fact the
only a third of the household’s income comes from tobacco farming, and the complaints of
unfair grading as well as decrease in allowed tobacco farmland, and being subject to natural
disasters, an overwhelming percentage of the households interviewed still consider that they
definitely will continue to grow tobacco. In general, tobacco farmers do better than farmers of
other crops such as rice, corn or wheat, although they spend much more time and labor.
Without the concept of the opportunity cost of their labor, these respondents do feel that
tobacco farming provide them with high profit.

The overwhelming majority of respondents who will continue or likely to continue growing
tobacco should also be seen against the backdrop of Yunnan as the number one tobacco
growing province in the country. Over 70 percent of the revenue for the province comes from
tobacco. To illustrate the importance of tobacco in the province, it is noted that it has one of
the world’s biggest cigarette factory, the Hongta Cigarette Company, in its Yuxi county. In
2010, this company produced 270 billion cigarettes, which amounted to 11.7 percent of all
cigarette sales in the country.25 Such is the importance of tobacco in Yunnan. A steady supply
of tobacco leaf according to allocated quota is of high importance. A lot of incentives are there
for farmers to continue to grow tobacco.

25
Tobacco Free Kids. The Chinese Tobacco Market and Industry Profile
http://global.tobaccofreekids.org/files/pdfs/en/TI_Profile_China.pdf

17
5. The Study in Tabora Region in Tanzania

5.1 Study sites

Tanzania has had a rapid growth of tobacco farming since 2009. In 2009, it produced only
58,700 tonnes of tobacco leaf, increasing up to 120,000 by 2012. Many farmers have taken up
tobacco farming in the last 6 or 7 years, possibly in addition to their subsistence farming. The
country is one of the top tobacco leaf growing countries in Africa, second only to Malawi.
Tobacco leaf is among the top agricultural export of the country, second only to coffee. In
2011, it exported 57% of its production.

The site of the study in Tanzania is the region of Tabora, which is the major tobacco leaf
growing region. Tabora is one of Tanzania’s 30 administrative regions, located in the central-
western part of the country. There are more than 60,000 tobacco growers in Tabora, consisting
mostly of small farmers, producing almost 70 percent of tobacco production in Tanzania. The
major buyers of tobacco leaves in Tanzania are Tanzania Leaf Tobacco Company and the
Alliance One Tanzania Limited. The largest cigarette company is the Tanzania Cigarette
Company, a subsidiary of Japanese Tobacco. Trade liberalization has contributed to a steady
increase in tobacco farming in Tanzania. Growing tobacco in Tanzania is important to both the
government and the tobacco industry.

Fig 2 Study site in Tanzania

Tabora Region
Area: 20,400 square miles
Population: 2.29 million (2012)
Ethnicity: The Niamwezi tribe is the
main ethnic group.
Annual per capita income in the
region: About US400
Agriculture: 90% of population are
farmers. 34% of the total cultivated
area is dedicated to tobacco.

18
5.2 Data Sources and Sociodemographic Characteristics

There are seven districts in Tabora. The study sample includes respondents from each district.
The survey was conducted in the fall of 2015 among tobacco farmers in this region. A
structured questionnaire that included some open ended questions was designed, pilot tested,
revised and administered. The method of sampling is stratified random sampling which aims at
including as many sub-regions as possible. The sample size is 408 farmers and the unit of
observation is a household.

The questionnaire included basic information on demographic and socioeconomic

characteristics, acreage owned, rented, planted and harvested. Labor inputs of women, men
and children in tobacco, maize and other crop farming were also collected. Other questions
included household wealth indicators such as type of house, number of rooms per house, use
of clean water and electricity along with asset measurements such as number of cattle and
number of trees owned. The questionnaire also includes questions pertaining to household
decision-making processes between women and men such as household expenditures, sale of
agricultural products as well as title to land and house.

Table 9 provides sociodemographic characteristics of the study sample. It shows that among
408 survey households, 352 households are male-headed, while 56 households are headed by
females – many of them widows. Average age of respondents (female) is 35 years old, 5 of the
respondents are older than age 60 and 26 of them are younger than age 20. Among these
respondents, 30 percent of the women are illiterate, compared to 16 percent of the husbands,
as reported by the wives. Mean household size is about 6 people. The average year of growing
tobacco among the respondents is 6 years, possibly reflecting the fact that with the rapid
growth of tobacco farming in the country since 2009, some farmers have taken up tobacco leaf
farming in addition to or in place of their subsistence farming. They have been growing tobacco
for close to 6 years. The mean area of cultivation is 2.2 hectares, about the national average.
Two measures of wealth in rural Africa are the number of timber trees owned and number of
cattle owned. On average, each household has about 50 trees and one cattle.

It should be noted that only 9.4 percent of households have running water and 7 percent of
household have working electricity. According to World Bank report, the national average for
electricity supply for rural households is at 14 percent and water supply at 44 percent. Rural
areas in Tanzania are virtually disconnected from the national electrical grid. Only 3 percent of
people living in rural villages use electricity, while 95% use firewood for cooking. Access to
electricity is almost zero for the two poorest quintiles of households even in urban areas. 26

26
Data from World Development Indicator (WDI) of the World Bank, and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS).
See also http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/only-14-of-tanzanians-have-electricity-what-can-be-done

19
 Table 9: Sociodemographic Characteristics of Study Sample
in Tabora Region, Tanzania

Tanzania Kenya
N = 408 N = 419

Women in male headed households 352 353

Women headed households 56 66
Average age of respondents 35 50 (male)
52 (female)
Illiterate
Male 16% 17.4%
Female 30% 18.7%
Average household size 6 6
Average area cultivated (hectares) 2.2 3.7 acres (owned)
1.48 acres (tobacco)
Household owning their land (%) 91%
Average years in tobacco farming 5.7 16.8
Average number of cattle 1 7
Average number of Trees 50 50
House with running water 9.4% 22%
House with electricity 7% 12%
Average distance to nearest main road 0.9 miles
Average distance to nearest town 6.8 miles 3 miles
Average distance to nearest health 1.5 miles 2 miles
station
Source: study survey

Note: for easy comparison, the same data from Kenya is shown side by side with those
of Tanzania, where data is available from our study in both countries. But because the
questionnaires used in the respective countries were not identical, there are some
blanks in the above table.

5.3 Women’s Labor Inputs in Tobacco Farming

To help respondents provide estimated hours and days spent in tobacco farming, the
questionnaire developed instruments for different stages of farming, from clearing and planting
to selling activities. Interviewers asked women their input as well as and their male household
members, including the time spent by their children. The total number of hours worked was
converted into a number of days as a unit of measure (8 hours per day). Besides tobacco leaves,
farmers also grow maize and other crops such as ground nuts. It was estimated in 2015 that the
household, on average, spent 258 days farming. Within 258 days, 199 days (close to 80%) the

20
household worked on tobacco leaf farming, 45 days on growing maize and 14 days on other
crops, as shown in Table 10.

Men spent 136 days while women spent 116 days on all crops. Within those days, women spent
32 days on maize and other crops while men spent 25 days on maize and other crops. Children
spend 4 days on tobacco farming and 2 days on other crops. Furthermore, women have a lot of
other household responsibilities such as child bearing and rearing, food preparation,
transporting water and other activities.

Table 10 : Household Time Spent (in days*) in Tobacco, Maize and Other Farming
for Study sample in Tabora Region, Tanzania
(N = 408 women respondents)

Crop Type Men Women Children Total

Tobacco 111 84 4 199

Maize 20 24 1 45
Other 5 8 1 14
Total 136 116 6 258
Source: study survey
*number of hours worked is converted to eight-hours days as a unit of measurement

As often observed, tobacco farming is very labor intensive. The survey results show that the
tobacco farmers in the study spend an equal amount of time as their male counterparts in
tobacco farming, in addition to women’s usual household chores and taking care of their
children. Table 11 shows the labor input of tobacco farming within household members. In
general, men and women spent 74 days and 73 days respectively, almost equal time on clearing
and planting, fertilizing, weeding and harvesting and storing tobacco leaves. The only
differences are that men spent more time on curing (including searching for firewood, 36 days
for men, versus 11 days for women) and selling the tobacco leaves on the market. Within the
tobacco farming activities, the most time consuming activities are clearing and planting,
followed by curing, weeding and harvesting. Children’s time and effort amounts to 2 days. From
the survey interview, it was found that elderly women (age >50) spent more time (about 84
days) than their younger counterparts. Women reside far from township areas and have less
wealth, spending more time on tobacco farming.

21
 Table 11: Household time spent in tobacco farming (in days*)
For Study Sample in Tabora Region, Tanzania
(N = 408 women respondents)

Type of Activity Men Women Children Total

Clearing and planting 52 50 2 104

Fertilizing 2 2 - 4
Weeding & harvesting 16 17 1 34
Curing** 36 11 1 48
Storing 4 4 - 8
Selling 1 - - 1
Total 111 84 4 199
Source: study survey

*hours worked are converted to eight hours day as a unit of measurement

**including searching for firewood

5.4 Health Status and Health Service Use

Tobacco farming activities including planting, chemical spraying and curing which make women
farmers vulnerable to poisoning and nicotine absorption. These exposures may lead to
symptoms of headaches, nausea, muscle weakness and dizziness. Out of 408 women, 110 of
them (27 percent) reported suffering from tobacco related illnesses, as shown in Table 12. 57
percent of all interviewed women were not aware of the negative health consequences of
chemical sprays or curing. 60 percent of women were not aware of the consequences of
working on tobacco leaf farming during pregnancy. However, almost the same percentage of
women still works in tobacco farming during pregnancy. Among the women who work while
pregnant in the farms, 70 percent have worked during the first six months, while 50 percent of
them have worked in the farm beyond six months.

Among individual women, 36 percent of them have visited a health clinic at least once during
the past year. Those women who spent more than 150 days working in the tobacco farm visited
the health clinic more often. On average, women visited at least two times per year, with a
total cost of 22,604 Tanzania Shillings for those visits (or $12.50). The average income per
household is about $990.

22
 Table 12: Health Knowledge of Survey Respondents
in Tabora Region, Tanzania
(N = 408 women respondents)

Percentage

Yes No
Aware of dangers of tobacco planting 43 57

Aware of health consequence of chemical 41 59

spray
Aware of health consequence of curing 42 58

Percentage of women who have worked 59 41

in tobacco farm during pregnancy

Suffered tobacco-related illness 27 73

Source: study survey

5.5 Empowerment and Entitlement

Measurement of empowerment and entitlement of men and women within a household can be
measured with seven indicators: (1) decision to grow tobacco, (2) decision to borrow money,
(3) who sells tobacco leaf to the market, (4) who collected revenue, (5) who allocated the
revenue, (6) who owns the land, and (7) who owns the house. Table 13 provides responses
within these groups. The women respondents who had a male head of household either jointly
made decisions, or the decision was made by the husband alone. There are 56 women
respondents who were heads of the household; they were mostly widowed, divorced, or
single.

As shown in Table 13, 42 percent of husband and wife couples jointly decided to grow tobacco,
and 43 percent of husbands alone decided to grow tobacco. 52 percent of husbands made the
decision to borrow money, while the decision is jointly made in 34 percent of the responses. 78
percent of husbands sell tobacco leaves at the market and 83 percent of husbands collected
money from tobacco leaf sales. It should be noted that the number of responses for each
question varied due to missing or unavailable data.

Among these tobacco-farming households, some of them also grow maize and other crops. It is
interesting to note that for maize-growing households, more females collect money than males
do by selling the crop to the market. It was learnt from interviews that maize growing is more
for subsistence, and the value of selling maize is minimal.

23
With regard to allocating tobacco revenue, about 60 percent of male farmers made the
decision. However, it was found in our detailed analysis that the woman who spent much more
time in tobacco farming have more say in deciding revenue allocation than women who spent
less time in tobacco farming.

One of the basic measurements of entitlement is the ownership of land and the home dwelling.
Respondents were asked to identify whether the ownership was under the name of the
husband or if it was jointly-owned. Responses indicate that almost 86 percent of the husbands
held land ownership and 85 percent of the husbands held the ownership of their dwelling. Only
a few women own the land and their home.

Table 13: Empowerment and Entitlement for Survey Respondents

in Tabora Region, Tanzania
(percentage)

Joint Husband Respondent

Alone

Decision to plant tobacco 42 43 15

(N = 407)
Decision to borrow money 34 52 14
(N = 401)
Sale of tobacco leaf to market 7 78 15
(N = 406)
Revenue collection from 1 83 16
tobacco (N = 403)
Revenue collection from maize 23 30 47
(N = 229)
Revenue allocation 31 60 9
(N = 404)
Land ownership 11 86 3
(N = 363)
House ownership 13 85 2
(N = 369)
Source: study survey

5.6 Tobacco Leaf Production Financing and Alternative Crops

Farmers in Tanzania are organized into co-operatives, and they elect the leadership from
among themselves. They pay 15,000 to 35,000 Tanzania Shillings (between US$7.50 and
$17.50) per year to cooperatives as a membership fee. Cooperative leaders are expected to
serve in the interest of the farmer members, and are involved in the grading and pricing of the
leaves in the farmer’s dealing with the tobacco companies. However, there is a sentiment
expressed which seems to say that cooperative leaders receive incentives from and are

24
influenced by tobacco companies, and may not always act in the best interest of the farmers.
They also seem to do better than the farmers whom they represent.

As shown in Table 14, among interviewed tobacco-farming households, they earned on average
close to US$990 in the previous year. Seventy-five percent of those households borrowed
money to pay for fertilizer or seeds. They borrowed in amounts close to $500 from tobacco
cooperatives, at an interest rate close to 10 percent per year. About 10 percent of households
are in continuous indebtedness, meaning that they are unable to repay their loan even when
they receive their income, especially for the farmers who earned less than $990 per year.

Many farmers complained about the unfair tobacco leaf grading and high interest rate for their
loans, leading to their indebtedness. About 80 percent of the farmers believed that tobacco
farming covered their cost, and 60 percent of them continue to grow tobacco leaves. Some
farmers complained about the delay in payment from cooperatives, ranging between 2 to 4
months.

When asked if they would consider switching to alternative crops, more than 60 percent of
them could not identify alternatives. While these farmers may have been farming other crops
for subsistence, they may lack the necessary knowledge to switch to other crops as a source of
income. Therefore it would require special effort to provide financial support, agricultural
technology, know-how, and marketing opportunities for these tobacco farmers to consider
growing other crops.

Table 14 : Tobacco Leaf Production Financing

for Study Sample in Tabora Region, Tanzania

N = 408 women respondents

Average amount of loan borrowed $500

(past year)
Average interest paid 10%
Average revenue received from tobacco $990
leaf sale
Percentage of household with 10%
continuous indebtedness
Percentage of household whose 80%
revenue can cover production cost, not
counting own labor cost
Percentage of households which 60%
desires to continue growing tobacco
Percentage of households which does 60%
not know alternative crop options
Source: study survey

25
6. The Study in Migori and Embu Counties in Kenya

6.1 Study sites

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy, employing 75 percent of the workforce and
accounting directly and indirectly for 51 percent of GDP.27 Tobacco cultivation was initiated by
the government in the 1960’s to increase farm incomes among smallholder farmers. Tobacco is
grown mostly in the Nyanza, Western, Eastern and Central regions. An estimated 80 percent of
the tobacco farming takes place in the Southern Nyanza region, mainly in the Migori, Kuria,
Suba, and Homa Bay districts of Nyanza province. The area under cultivation for tobacco leaf
has gradually increased from 14,160 hectares in 2000 to 23,000 hectares in 2012.28 Production
of tobacco leaf amounted to just 15,000 tonnes in 2012. The yield has fluctuated in the last 10
years, with the highest production recorded in 2005 at 25,000 tonnes. The value of tobacco
leaf export is 12th among the country’s 20 leading food and agricultural exports.29

The Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture statistics cite the total number of tobacco farmers in the
country at around 36,000, all but 5,000 of them contract farmers.30 A 2012 International
Development Research Center (IDRC) report indicates that there are 55,000 households which
are dependent on tobacco leaf production.31

The main tobacco companies in the country are British American Tobacco Kenya (BAT-K), which
held an almost monopolistic position until the late 1980s. BAT-K’s main local rival is
Mastermind Tobacco (Kenya) Limited, and a local company of the worldwide company Alliance
One. Industry documents show that BAT-K enjoys high-level political connections and uses its
clout to shape policy, force farmers to sell to them rather than to its competitors, and continues
to pay farmers very poorly.32

Tobacco production in Kenya is organized on the concept of contract farming - a system

whereby companies use smallholder farmers to produce cash crops. The contract restricts the
contracted farmer to farm inputs loaned by the company, which are generally expensive

27
“Feed the Future”, a publication of the US Government Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative. Retrieved
from http://www.feedthefuture.gov/country/kenya
28
FAOSTAT 2012
29
FAOSTAT 2012
30
Institute of Legal Affairs (2012, rev. 2013). Briefing paper. Tobacco industry interference in Kenya: exposing the
tactics. Retrieved from ilakenya.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Tinterference.pdf
31
Kibwage, J. K., Netondo, G. W., Magati, P. O., Mutiso, F. M., Sitati, A. M., and Nyambeki, F. (2012). Phase II 4th
Technical Project Progress Report on Diversification of Household Livelihood Strategies for Tobacco Small-holder
Farmers: A Case Study of Introducing Bamboo in South Nyanza Region, Kenya. SEUCO/ Maseno University/INBAR.
IDRC, Canada.
32
Patel, P., Collin, J., & Gilmore, A. B. (2007). The law was actually drafted by us but the Government is to be
congratulated on its wise action: British American tobacco and public policy in Kenya. Tobacco Control, 16(1):e1.

26
compared to those available in the local market or subsidies offered by the government. The
Ministry of Agriculture classifies tobacco as a non-scheduled crop, meaning that the
government does not allocate any funds towards any activity associated with tobacco including
extension services. This, however, has not had a negative effect on tobacco farming. Tobacco
growers receive extension services from tobacco companies.

Despite the perception of the economic importance of tobacco leaf, data suggest that tobacco
leaf makes only a minimal contribution to Kenyan exports. From official figures of Kenyan
exports, which group together tobacco leaf and manufactures, the export value of tobacco leaf
and manufactures in 2011 was approximately 3.8 percent of total exports.33

Although tobacco is grown extensively in some regions in Kenya, it is not a significant crop in
terms of broader national agricultural production with recent government data indicating that
it constitutes a mere 0.6 percent of total agricultural gross marketed production. This is
equivalent to just 0.03 percent of GDP, based on total crops grown in Kenya accounting for 19.7
percent of GDP in 2014.34 It is currently grown for commercial purposes in three regions where
it is considered to be a significant crop, and the two study sites are among them.

Fig 3 Study sites

Embu

Migori

33
Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics (2012). Retrieved from
https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/9)%20Kenya%20facts%20and%20figures%202012.pdf
Tobacco leaf and manufactures export amount to Ksh 18,633 million. Total export is Ksh 482,944 million.
34
Kenya GDP and Economic Data(Republic of Kenya 2015)

27
 Migori County

Situated in the southwestern part of the country, Migori borders Tanzania and Lake Victoria,
and is a county where agriculture is an important aspect of the economy. Only 15 percent of its
residents have secondary level education and above. 65 percent have only primary school
education, and 20 percent have no formal education at all. Here, only 9 percent of residents
who have no formal education, 9 percent of those with a primary education and 22 percent of
those with a secondary level of education or above are working for pay.

Embu County

Situated 75 miles northeast of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, Embu county’s main economic activity is
farming. It employs 70 percent of the population, and 88 percent of the households is engaged
in agricultural activities. The county has a good number of schools, including primary,
secondary as well as tertiary education institutes. 71 percent of the young people between the
age of 15 – 18 are in school.

Migori Embu

Area: 1000 sq miles Area: 1080 sq miles

Population: 917,000 Population: 516,000 (2009)
Age Distribution: 0–14 years 49%, 15– Ethnicity: The indigenous Aembu
64 years 48% and over 65 years 3% people, as well as other tribes
Ethnicity: many ethnic groups. Second Income level: 42% of population live
most diverse county in the country below poverty line. Annual per capita
Income level: 43% of population live income is Ksh122,000 (US$1200)
below poverty line. Annual per capita Agriculture: Farming is the main
income is Ksh128,000 (US$ 1260) economic activity, employs 70% of
Agriculture: Thousands of acres of population.
tobacco grown in its Suna West, Kuria
West and Kuria regions

28
6.2 Data Sources and Sociodemographic Characteristics

Farmers who are actively engaged in tobacco farming, tobacco extension and field technicians,
local leaders and women tobacco farmers are the sources of information. Seven focus group
discussions comprising 10-12 respondents each and twenty in-depth interviews with key
informants were conducted. Discussions and interviews were recorded and transcribed. Focus
group participants had experience and knowledge on tobacco, livelihood, environment and
information related to farming activities of the community. 419 women farmers were
interviewed in the quantitative survey. The survey instrument is based on the one used in the
Tanzanian survey with local adaptations. Table 15 shows the demographic characteristics of
the respondents.

Similar to the study in the Tabora region of Tanzania, about 15.7% of the household heads in
the sample are female (about 14% in Tabora). The average age of household heads is much
older (in the 50s compared with 35 in Tabora sample). The literacy level of the women
respondents seems to be higher. Only 18.7% here are illiterate compared to 30% in Tabora.
The area under cultivation for tobacco is much smaller than in Tabora. Here, it is only 1.48
acres on average, compared to the average of 2.2 hectares (5.5 acres) in Tabora. Both samples
have the same average household size, and on average own the same number of trees. The
Kenyan sample has on average a much larger number of cattle (7 compared to 1 in the Tabora
sample). The percentage of household with access to running water and electricity are higher
than that in Tabora (22% for running water vs 9.4%, and 12% for electricity vs 7%). Here, farms
which do not have access to running water have to get their water from wells (42.7%) or fetch
from rivers (35.3%). The average distance to nearest town is much closer (1.4 km vs 11 km in
Tabora). The distance to nearest health station is 3 km, similar to 2.4 km in Tabora. A health
station could be a fairly rudimentary set up to provide the most basic health care services to the
farmers.

29
 A day in the life of woman farmers in Embu, Kenya

The women wake up between 4am and 5am to prepare for the day. Their first chore is to
milk the cow(s) for those households with milk cows.

At around 5.30 am they wake up children. The children often help in washing utensils used
during the previous super. Women with small children do the utensil washing themselves
Breakfast is prepared and served by 6 am. Most women use firewood as a source of energy
to cook food. Breakfast usually consists of milk tea and leftover food from previous supper
Leftover food may include Githeri (mixed beans and maize), Ugali (local corn meal) or sweet
potatoes. If they are able to afford school fees, The women see off the children to school by
6am.
Between 6:00 to 7:00 am, most women go to water tobacco seedbeds down the river, an
average 1.5 km away. During weekends or school holidays, the children help with the
watering.
Between 8am and 9 am the women go to farms and stay there until 5 pm or 6pm. If the farm
is far from the homestead ( for example, rented farm), the women have to prepare lunch for
children in the morning before going to the farm and pack some so that they do not come
back to the house for lunch. Women farmers bear the brunt of the hard and often back
bending labor including clearing the field, fetching water from nearby streams, transplanting
seedlings, weeding and harvesting, fetching firewoord, and curing the leaves .
After returning from farm activities at around 5 pm, the women will embark on evening
chores, fetching water, bathing the children, washing the uniforms for the children, going to
the mill and buying vegetables for supper. They then prepare supper, which is taken between
7pm and 10 pm depending on family preference. Most women end their day between 9pm
and 10 pm when they retire to bed

30
 Table 15: Sociodemographic Characteristics of Study Sample in Kenya

Kenya Tanzania
N = 419 N = 408

Women in male headed households 353 352

Women headed households 66 56
Average age of respondents 50 (male) 35
52 (female)
Illiterate
Male 17.4% 16%
Female 18.7% 30%
Average household size 6 6
Average area cultivated (hectares) 3.7 acres 2.2
(owned)
1.48 acres
(tobacco)
Household owning their land (%) 91%
Average years in tobacco farming 16.8 5.7
Average number of cattle 7 1
Average number of Trees 50 50
House with running water 22% 9.4%
House with electricity 12% 7%
Average distance to nearest main road 0.9 miles
Average distance to nearest town 3 miles 6.8 miles
Average distance to nearest health 2 miles 1.5 miles
station
Source: study survey

Note: This table juxtaposes the data from Kenya with Tanzania side by side for
ease of reference. The content is the same as Table 9.

The average size of land owned by respondent households was 3.7 acres; the average land
rented for farming purposes was 0.75 acres. Ninety one percent of respondent indicated that
they own the land on which they do tobacco farming.

The average weight of tobacco leaf harvested per season over a twelve-month period per
household was 1067 kg. This compares with 982 kg harvested for maize, which is the next most
important crop. The average revenue from tobacco sales was Ksh 72, 069 (US$706) per
household. Thirty-six percent of the respondents said this amount cover the farm input costs
while 64 % said the amount does not cover costs. Almost all the respondents sold their tobacco
to tobacco companies. 82 percent of respondents indicated that the tobacco company sets

31
price of tobacco leaf, 15 percent said Agent sets the price while 1.6 percent said the price is
negotiated between farmer and buyer.

6.3 Women’s labor input in tobacco farming

With data on how many hours are worked for different stages of the tobacco farming cycle, a
metric of 8 hour man days is used to show how much time is devoted to each process. See
Table 16. The most time consuming activities are weeding and curing. The data shows both
the men as well as the respondents spend about the same amount of time on tobacco farming
work, with the men spending more time on firewood collection.

Table 16: Time spent in days* by household on tobacco farming

for study sample in Kenya
(N = 419 women respondents)

Type of Activity Men Women

Clearing and planting 4 4

Fertilizing 2 2
Weeding and 14 14
harvesting
Spraying chemicals 2 2
Firewood collection 21 11
Curing 21 21
Storing 1 1
Leaf grading 4 5
Selling 2 1
Total 71 61
Source: study survey

*hours worked are converted to eight hours day as a unit of measurement

It is learnt from the respondents that farm inputs from the tobacco companies are expensive,
and that farmers are not allowed to find cheaper inputs elsewhere. Earnings from first sales
will go to repaying loans. Farmers can only begin to earn an income in the subsequent sales
after the loans are paid off. Often times, the leaves at that time would be of poorer quality,
and these fetch an even lower price.

32
6.4 Health status and health service use

From the focus group discussions, the participants mentioned the following as the health
problems related to tobacco farming: chest problem and coughing, cancer, miscarriage during
pregnancy, asthma, headache and vomiting, eye problems, as well as skin and itching problems.

As shown in Table 17, 80 percent of the respondents are aware of the health risks of the
different stages of farming tobacco . Alarmingly, 73 percent of respondents have worked in the
tobacco farm while pregnant and 79 percent of respondents said they engaged in tobacco
farming while nursing or taking care of children under five. Participants in the focus groups
also described the health risks at different stages of the tobacco farming. When preparing the
nursery bed, they are exposed to pesticides because they lack protection and are not aware of
handling techniques. During the transplanting of seedlings and the subsequent watering and
spraying of fungicides, injuries can result because of poor posture leading to back pain. Being
exposed to early morning cold also led to respiratory problems. Injuries would result from falls.
Skin contact with tobacco leaf, exposure to chemicals, carrying heavy loads on their back or
head exposure to chemical sprays and inhaling toxic fumes are all experienced during the
farming season. When harvesting and curing, the farmers might experience exposure to
tobacco dust and fumes. Watching the curing process all through the night also results in lack
of sleep.

Table 17: Health Knowledge and Tobacco Farmers

in Study Sample in Kenya
(N = 419 women respondents)

Yes (%) No (%)

Dangers of tobacco planting 80 20

Health consequence of chemical spray 82 18
Health consequence of curing 78 22
Work in farm during pregnancy 73 27
Source: study survey

6.5 Empowerment and Entitlement

The women in the farming household here do play some role in decision making in the choice
of what crops to plant as well as selling the leaves. Over 20 percent of the respondents There is
also a high percentage of respondents of over 30 percent who are responsible for collecting the
money and deciding how to spend the income from the tobacco leaves. On land and house
ownership however, responses show that it is entirely in the hands of the man of the

33
household. Even for those respondents who are in women headed households, they also do
not necessarily own land or house.

Table 18: Women Empowerment and Entitlement in Study Sample in Kenya

N = 419 women respondents Joint Husband Respondent

alone
Decision to plant tobacco (%) 38.7 38.2 22
Decision to borrow money (%) 36 41 23
Sale of tobacco leaf to market 14.8 52.3 32.9
(%)
Revenue collection (%) 10.3 50.4 38.4
Revenue allocation (%) 26 37 37
Land ownership (%) 96.7 1.4
House ownership (%) 98 2
Source: study survey

6.6 Tobacco Leaf Production Financing and Alternative Crops

86 percent of respondents said that the main reason for engaging in tobacco farming was to
earn more income. A few said their land could only grow tobacco. And 12 percent gave other
reasons for engaging in tobacco farming. Focus group discussions revealed that a major
motivation to engage in tobacco farming was the loan facility offered by the contracting
company. The participants noted that even though the loan facility was expensive, it was fairer
than looking for cash money from other sources to buy farm inputs. Without title to owning
land or their dwelling, access to financing is very challenging for these women farmers.
Another motivation for continued tobacco farming was that farmers get a lump sum amount or
bonus in the end. The money earned helps them improve their livelihood, e.g. build their
houses. The discussions revealed that most women were staying in grass thatched houses often
in dilapidated condition. Upon getting a lump sum from tobacco farming, they were able to
construct more permanent houses. It was also learnt from these discussions that some women
tobacco farmers were already engaged in tobacco farming before getting married.

34
 Table 19: Tobacco Leaf Production Financing in Study Sample in Kenya

N = 419 women respondents

Average Amount of loan borrowed (past year) Ksh 20000(US$200)

Revenue received from tobacco leaf sale 29,900 Kenyan shillings
(US$ 299 )
Percentage of household with continuous indebtedness 20%
Percentage of household where revenue from tobacco 36%
covered the production cost
Percentage of household with desire to continue 53%
growing tobacco
Source: study survey

35
7. Summary and Conclusions

This study was conducted to provide an improved understanding of women tobacco farmers,
their labor input, their awareness of the health risks of tobacco farming, as well as their level of
empowerment in decision making related to their health and financial wellbeing. China,
Tanzania and Kenya are the three case studies in this study. The regions where the surveys
were conducted are among the most important tobacco growing regions in the respective
countries. So even though this study does not claim that the findings are representative of
women tobacco farmers in the country as a whole, findings can be illustrative of what the
women tobacco farmers in these countries face. While this is not an effort at a comparative
study of the three countries, and China and the two African countries are at very different stage
of economic development with entirely different cultural and social backgrounds, some
interesting parallels and contrasts can be drawn. This study of women farmers also did not set
out specifically to compare the women farmers with the male farmers. Thus the comparison
between women farmers and their male counterparts will only be pointed out where the data
is available.

Low level of education

Women tobacco farmers in all three countries have a low level of education. In China, which
has a very high literacy rate for women at 94.5 percent35, over 83 percent of the respondents
have less than 6 years of education or no education at all. In Tanzania, 30 percent of the
respondents are illiterate, while in Kenya, 19 percent of the respondents are illiterate. This is in
line with the literacy level for women of Tanzania and Kenya at 65 percent and 75 percent
respectively36. Compared with the male farmers in these households, the women farmers have
a higher level of illiteracy.

With little or no education or even illiterate, women farmers do not have much choice to
improve their outlook in life. In China, the majority of women farmers in the study (73 percent)
will continue to grow tobacco, despite the many hardships cited, including being subject to
natural disasters and the labor intensive nature of the growing tobacco leaf. In the case of
Tanzania, 60 percent of the respondents will continue to grow tobacco despite their complaints
of unfair grading and their indebtedness to the tobacco companies with which they have
contracted to grow tobacco. Similarly, in Kenya, 53 percent of the respondents say that they
will continue to grow tobacco.

35
The World Fact Book - CIA https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
36
The World Fact Book - CIA https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

36
A corollary of low level of education is the lack of knowledge about any alternative farming or
means of livelihood. 60 percent of the Tanzanian respondents could not identify alternative
farming. The respondents in China are different. Tobacco farming makes up only about 25 – 30
percent of the household’s earnings, and there is income from other crops, livestock farming,
wage labor in the cities as well. Less than 10 percent of respondents devote their entire farm
to tobacco farming. The main reason these farmers continue to grow tobacco despite the
challenges has more to do with the factors related to the fact that tobacco is a state owned
industry, and that farmers have quotas to meet. The rapid urbanization of China’s rural
population has drawn many men to work in cities for wage labor, and the women who have
less education are left behind in these farms. In contrast, Tanzanian and Kenyan respondents
have tobacco farming as their main economic activity. Planting of other crops such as maize for
the is more for subsistence.

Low level of awareness of and high risks of exposure to health risks of tobacco farming

Tobacco farmers (women and children) are often exposed to chemical poisoning through
fertilizers and pesticides and they also absorb nicotine during the curing of tobacco leaves. The
Global Adult Tobacco Survey China 2010 Fact Sheet indicated that only 23 percent of the adult
population believe that smoking causes stroke, heart attack and lung cancer, and only 25
percent believe that exposure to tobacco smoke causes hear disease and lung cancer.37 Thus it
is not surprising that the respondents suffer the discomforts associated with farming tobacco
without much realization that tobacco farming could be a contributing factor. Among the
symptoms associated with green tobacco sickness presented in the questionnaire, half the
respondents suffer from dizziness, while 33 percent suffer from headache. (The corresponding
percentage for the husbands of these women are much less at only 13 percent for both
symptoms). Yet it is interesting that these women do not associate tobacco farming as a
possible contributing factor to their discomforts. About 40 percent of the respondents thought
tobacco farming did not have any negative effect on health, and only 28 percent thought it had
negative effect on health.

For the respondents In Tanzania, about 60 percent of respondents are not aware of the health
consequences of working in tobacco farms, including the chemical spraying and curing of the
leaves in the barn. And over 60 percent of them have continued to work there while pregnant.
In Kenya, the awareness level is high in comparison. Only 20 percent of the respondents are
not aware of the health risks of the different stages of tobacco farming. Yet over 70 percent of
them have worked in the tobacco farm while pregnant.

37
GATS China Factsheet. http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/en_tfi_china_gats_factsheet_2010.pdf

37
Labor input by women into tobacco farming is at least equal to that of men in addition to their
household work

In China, the women’s input during various stages of tobacco farming is significantly higher than
that of the male farmers. A much higher percentage of the respondents fully participate in
various stages of tobacco farming as compared to that of the men. This could be due to the
fact that some men have found wage labor and do not regard tobacco farming as the main
economic activity. Even so, when the time spent on other activities are taken into account,
women’s labor input is more than that of men.

In Tanzania, the labor input of women has been shown to be somewhat less than that of men.
Men’s input into tobacco farming is the equivalent of 111 days of 8 hours38, while that for
women is 84. In Kenya, man’s input in tobacco farming is the equivalent of 71 days of 8 hours,
while that of women is equivalent to 61 man days of 8 hours. It is universally observed that
the women in the household are responsible for housework, bearing and nurturing of the
children, and taking care of the older generation and the sick in the family. For the women
farmers in the tobacco fields, this is an added burden in addition to labor intensive and time
consuming work in the various stages of the tobacco growth cycle.

When women are busy all the long, they have little time left for their self enrichment, both
physically and intellectually. Nor do they have time to do anything to invest in themselves and
to improve their future, or participate in village activities and communicate and organize with
women in their same situation to improve their outlook.

Hardships in the women tobacco farmer’s life

In Tanzania, less than 10 percent of the respondents have access to running water or electricity
in their homes and for their farms. In the case of Kenya, it is only slightly better, with 22
percent of the homes with access to running water, and 12 percent of the home with access to
electricity. This makes the labor intensive nature of tobacco farming even more laborious, as it
is necessary to fetch water for irrigation and fetch wood for curing. And women farmers bear
the larger proportion of such tasks and suffer the harsh conditions of tobacco farming.

In the case of China, economic development in the country in the last few decades mean that
tobacco farmers have much better access to modern conveniences than their African
counterparts. Even so, in the interior of the country which is where tobacco is grown, life on
the tobacco farm is still hard labor, and because many men have become migrant laborers in
the cities, most of the back bending work in tobacco farming is done by women. As hired
laborers in tobacco farms, women earn less than men.

38
The unit of “days” is used as a unit of measurement to reflect 8 hours of labor input.

38
Women farmers have less entitlement in their farmland and in their home and less
empowerment

China is the exceptional case here. Compared with the men, a higher percentage of the
respondents are decision makers on what to grow, to sign contract with the tobacco agency
and collect the revenue from their sales. Women farmers will conduct their negotiations with
the agency. Besides the fact that women in the modern Chinese society are more empowered
than in traditional society, one reason could be the structural changes happening in the
economy. Men devote a significant part of economic activity to wage labor in the urban areas,
and farming may not be their main preoccupation.

Still, the researchers find that women farmers here are less likely to be able to argue their case
during any conflicts with authorities. Nor are they able to sit on committees to take part in
village affairs and in general participate equally as men. Since women are expected to stay
home to take care of children and parents in addition to their farm work, they have fewer
chance to travel. Although it is not a part of the study, the group discussions showed that in
general, the men had travelled more and further outside of their village than the women.
Limited exposure may have made women less knowledgeable and less communicative and thus
more disadvantaged in the public sphere as well.

In Tanzania, in almost the majority of the cases, only the women who are widowed or single,
meaning that they are the head of their own household, will get to decide on what to grow,
borrow money, sign contract or own their land. In the other households, while it is sometimes
a joint decision, it is overwhelmingly the men who will be the one to be responsible for
collection of revenue from the tobacco leaf. Very few of them have ownership or even joint
ownership to the land and their house. It is the male farmers who go to market to sell the leaf,
sign contracts and collect the revenue from the tobacco farming.

Compared to the Tanzanian counterparts, the Kenyan women farmers have a larger role in
deciding what crops to plant, whether to borrow money, taking the leaves to the market, selling
them as well as collecting the money and deciding how to allocate the money. One reason
would be that the tobacco farms are much smaller than the farms in Tabora, and that tobacco
farming is not as important an element in the household economics as in the tobacco farming
households in the Tabora region. It is interesting to note that land ownership and house
ownership is still entirely the man’s domain, and there is no joint ownership. The few who do
own the land or the house are widowed women farmers.

39
The illusion of good income from tobacco farming

In all three countries, the respondents are under the impression that farming tobacco brings
profits, despite the fact that the complaint of unfair grading of their tobacco leaf is common
among all three cases. In the case of China, it is true that because of the institutionalized
nature of tobacco farming, their produce can fetch a known price. In Tanzania and Kenya
however, the majority of the farmers are in debt to the tobacco companies and 10 percent of
the Tanzania respondents and 20 percent of the Kenyan respondents are in a continuous cycle
of indebtedness. This is because they borrow the money to buy the inputs for the tobacco
farming, and because the price that their produce can fetch is at the discretion of the tobacco
company which grades their leaf, farmers are at their mercy. The average earning of the
Tanzanian respondents is about to US$990 for the year, while Kenyan respondents report an
average earning of US$500 for their tobacco crop. Note that the average size of the tobacco
farmland in Kenya is smaller than that of Tanzania.

Lack of awareness of the value of their own labor and limited access to apply for credit

In all three studies, farmers do not calculate the value of their own labor into the input cost.
Considering that their time can be put to other gainful employment, especially in the case of
China, the labor cost of the work in the farms should be factored into their calculation of their
earnings. Extensive research has shown that tobacco farming seldom generate a net gain for
the farmers if they factor in their own labor cost.39 The concept of opportunity cost is not
something that the farmers are familiar with. The women seem to just work hard and then get
what they can get, with little negotiating power.

In the focus group discussions in both Tanzania and Kenya, a common issue voiced was the
difficulty for women farmers to access credit.

39
Hu, T. Mao Z, Jiang H, Tao M, Yurekli A (2007) The role of government in tobacco leaf production in China:
National and local intervention> International Journal of Public Policy, Vol.2 Nov, pp.235-248.
Keyser J. (2007) Crop substitution and alternative crops for tobacco, Study conducted as a technical document for
the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Study group on alternative crop substitution by the Conference of the Parties to the
WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco control.
Kidane A, MdumaJ, Naho, Hu, T (2016) Economic returns and costs of tobacco, maize and groundnuts: The case of
Tabora region, Tanzania. African Statistical Journal Vol. 19 ( forthcoming ).

40
8. Recommendations and Future Program Development

8.1 Improve the livelihood of women tobacco farmers and their outlook in life:

Provide education opportunities: The literacy rate of the women farmers in Tanzania and
Kenya is low. The Chinese farmers also do not have a high level of education. Providing more
education opportunities for women would be a worthwhile starting point to improve the
livelihood of women farmers in general.

Provide water and energy resources: In the case of Kenya and Tanzania, the livelihood and
health of women tobacco farmers can be improved by providing the farms with water
collection systems for wells and irrigation, as well as power supply such as through solar power.
Access to running water and access to electricity supply is low in these two cases. The time-
consuming and strenuous nature of fetching water is the cause of falls and other health risks
and cause much hardship. Availability of modern communication equipment such as mobile
phones will help the women to access many more opportunities .

Provide health and safety knowledge: Women tobacco farmers can benefit from a higher
awareness and knowledge of the health risks of tobacco farming, as well as knowledge about
the need to protect themselves from chemicals of insecticides and fertilizers. They need to be
introduced to the need and importance of protective gear, and their right to insist on such from
the companies which contract with them. Health education programs on the health risks to the
farmer herself, as well as the risk to unborn child if working in tobacco farm during pregnancy,
need to organized.

Provide training for communication and assertive skills: In all three countries, skills such as
community organization skills will greatly help the women to have a broader outlook and
communicate with other farmers in the same situation and learn to negotiate with their
husbands as well as the tobacco companies or village elders. Community organizers can help
women to form cooperatives and counsel them on assertiveness and to protect their own
rights. Opportunities for women to participate in community affairs will also help the women
to be better able to take charge of their own destiny.

Provide affordable loans: Establishing financial loan programs to provide affordable loans for
farmers (particularly women) to grow non-tobacco crops or other productive enterprises will be
of great benefit to the women tobacco farmers. This is particularly true for the African
countries of this study. In the case of the Chinese farmers in this study, it would seem that they
borrow from their relatives and the tobacco company provides them with help and incentives.
Difficulty to obtain loans did not emerge as an issue for them.

41
Equal rights under the law: In the case of the African countries, the inheritance law for
women to have ownership and entitlement of land and houses will also help women farmers
achieve greater empowerment. This however can only be done by legislation. But the demand
for such need to come from the grassroots population. Thus educating the women on their
right to such equal treatment, as well as inculcating the concept of opportunity cost, will go
towards empowering women to be more assertive for their own financial well being.

8.2 Support the cultivation of alternative crops or alternative means of livelihood:

Provide knowledge and technical support for alternative crops: Programs to raise the
awareness of women tobacco farmers to alternative crops and alternative means of livelihood
will be a first step to switching from tobacco farming. Technical support on what and how they
can plant alternative crops, on the suitability of climate and soil conditions, on the need for
irrigation systems, and on the selection of seed and choice of fertilizer and pesticides etc can
benefit tobacco farmers in general and women tobacco farmers in particular.

Provide financial and marketing infrastructure for alternative crops: The economics of the
chosen alternative crop(s), marketing infrastructure, logistical support, pricing information are
areas which are essential to a successful transition from tobacco farming. This also applies to
other means of livelihood for farmers such as raising livestock on their farms.

Provide financial incentives to diversify crops: Government policy is needed to establish support
programs for tobacco farmers and provide incentives for them to diversify to at least one crop.
Cash subsidies during the transition period will be needed for the farmers. Government
insurance programs are needed to protect farmers against risks and vulnerability of growing
other crops.

Establish cooperatives for farmers: The formation of cooperatives will help farmers, and
women farmers in particular, to learn more from each other and will also improve their
bargaining with potential buyers.

8.3 Building evidence base and capacity building

This study could only be regarded as the starting point of gaining a better understanding of the
women tobacco farmers working in China and in African countries. In this connection, it is
recommended that:

42
  Data collection needed to build up the evidence base on tobacco farmers should be
established to conduct surveys on the economic return and cost of alternative crops and
tobacco farming in Africa
 Surveillance studies need to be conducted on the health status of tobacco farmers, their
access to health services, and the affordability of health care services
 A training program for women farmers should be developed to help women farmers to
learn job skills, financial management, market information
 Health surveillance studies should be conducted on the health of male and female
tobacco farmers.

These recommendations involve a multidimensional approach which will require the

collaboration of and funding from multiple international organizations, such as the World Bank,
the World Health organization, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, the African
Development Bank; philanthropic organizations such as the Bill and Melinda and Gates
Foundation, the Michael Bloomberg Philanthropy, and the Howard Buffet Foundation; as well
as non-profit public service organizations and alliances. The capacity of the public health
advocates in these countries can be strengthened to play a vital role in this endeavor.

The above list of program recommendations are organized under each theme about how to
improve women's livelihood, their health, their empowerment, crop substitution. In fact many
of these program recommendations have multiple impacts on those four themes and these
four themes are also interrelated. Therefore a matrix is summarized to show these
interrelationships. This matrix would be useful for future program investment development.
See Table 20.

43
 Table 20: A Matrix of Key Recommendations

Achievement of objectives

Investment Programs
Improving Improving Empowering Women Crop
Women’s Women’s Substitution
Livelihood Health
Education
Opportunities/
Vocational Training
✓ ✓ ✓
Water/Energy
Resources ✓ ✓ ✓
Provide Health
Knowledge and Health
Risk Information
✓ ✓
Provide Access to
Health Services ✓ ✓
Provide training for
Communication
Assertive Skills
and ✓ ✓ ✓
Provide Affordable
Loans ✓ ✓ ✓
Provide Financial and
Marketing
Infrastructure
✓ ✓ ✓
Establish Women’s
Cooperatives ✓ ✓
Data Collection
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

44
 Appendix 1: Quotations from focus group discussions

(Note: all farmers quoted here are women tobacco farmers unless otherwise specified.)

Workload and harsh working conditions

 “Tobacco farming takes prolonged time: watering the seedling, searching for firewood,
preparing the land for cultivation”.
Farmer in Tanzania

 “Transplanting is a tedious process. Transplant is done while one is in bending or

squatting position for long periods and is often a source of back pain problems.”

 “It takes an average of 20 minutes walk to the river and an average 30 minutes trek
from seedbed to farms. We suffer colds and cold weather ailments because of waking
early to go the river and to transport the seedlings”. (Note: Transplanting takes place at
onset of rainy season when it is wet and walking paths are often slippery. )

Farmers in Kenya

On Health

 “We have arthritis because of waking up in the morning to water tobacco and our backs
pain a lot for carrying firewood to cure tobacco. For example I am allergic to tobacco,
and when curing and grading approaches my chest pains a lot because of inhaling smell
and I get difficulties in breathing”.

 “We have heard tobacco causes cancer and pneumonia to the farmers”.
Farmers in Kenya

 “I vomit while curing”.

 “The health center is far from home or from farm”.

 “I am losing weight because of exhaustion”.

Farmers in Tanzania

Health problems with chemicals

 “There was one chemical which was given by Mastermind for seedbed and that
chemical was extremely poisonous and you see these seedbeds are prepared on the
riverside and you can imagine the danger that it can cause if there is rain and the water
run out to river.”

45
  “There was a time I used this chemical for painting the fence to kill the termite. I used a
cloth to cover my hand while I apply the chemical to the wood. I then threw it into my
pit latrine. The pit latrine had cockroaches. All these cockroaches came out crawling and
they all died because of the chemical. My cat ate dead cockroaches and it also died”.

Farmers in Kenya

Working in farm while pregnant

 “When a woman is pregnant, the husband does not care about her situation and she still
has to go to the farm to harvest or weed or do any tobacco activity. At times she might
be weeding and he is spraying around tobacco farm and this may cause miscarriage to
the woman because of spraying chemicals”.
Farmer in Kenya

Gender inequality

 “Men do not work hard. They do not do any housework. After finishing ploughing, they
just wash themselves and then sit down in front of TV or go out for fun. Women need to
cook and do other housework.”

 “Many men take No. 4 (drug). They just stare at each other without doing anything.”
Farmers in China

 “Men smoke opium and take No. 4. You cannot expect men to manage family finance.”

 “Even the most hardworking man does less than woman.”

Male tobacco farmers in China

Domestic problems arise

 “You find that when tobacco was grown in big numbers there was a lot of domestic
conflicts because there was tradition that tobacco selling and receiving of money was
for the men. During sales season, you would find many drunk. Women look at this as
irresponsible use of money which resulted to domestic violence”.

 “The problem starts because the man goes to the bank and collects all the money. By
the time he gets home, he has nothing in the pocket - he has passed through the bar
and drunk everything in the name of brushing off ‘dust’ or ‘sweat’”.

 “In most cases you find that the wife and children are intimidated to a point that none
can dare to question the man.”
Farmers in Kenya

46
 Unequal treatment by tobacco company & authorities

 “There is inequality especially selling tobacco. The tobacco companies tend to favor men
more than women because they assume women know less about tobacco grading and
also farming”.

 “We know what good tobacco is because we grow tobacco every year”.

 “Men are more powerful. The villagers would listen to them. If a woman becomes
village head, no one would listen”.
Farmers in China

 “Men manage village affairs. Old men take more responsibilities for this.”
Male tobacco farmer in China

 “In our culture only men have title to land and house”.

 “I have no control over the revenue we get from tobacco. My husband is in charge”.
Farmers in Tanzania

Engagement with tobacco industry

Powerlessness in face of tobacco company /authorities

 “When we sell the tobacco leaves, the villagers’ committee disappears, the director
disappears. No one helps us. Each household just sells their own leaves. Nobody
thought of negotiating with the corporation together”.

 “Don’t know how to solve this problem. There are many such cases in our village, but we
have no chance to meet the staff of the tobacco corporation”.

 “We didn’t think of raising our complaints through formal mechanism. The villagers’
committee does not dare to say anything either”.
Farmers in China

 “The planting areas, type of tobacco and procurement price are all decided by the
tobacco corporation. No negotiation”.

 “Only those who are educated and knowledgeable would be called to the meeting, not
someone like us”.
Farmers in China

47
 Exploitation by tobacco company

 “I belong to tobacco farmers cooperative. The leadership is corrupt. When we elect

officers they promise that they will guarantee higher price for our product. Once elected
they become very friendly with the tobacco companies”.

 “Cooperative leaders are only interested in enriching themselves”.

Farmers in Tanzania

 “At times I think when entering into contract, they are like “robbers”. But poverty
pushes me to continue being exploited”.

 “The Company should not give inputs in excess to the farmers because the farmer takes
all the burden of repaying such inputs and this result in the farmers getting next to
nothing. For instance, if I need 2 sacks of fertilizer let me be given 2 sacks of fertilizer
and not 3 or 4 sacks. In addition, inputs should be given at a fair price that is equivalent
to what is costing at the market”.

 “The company is there to exploit us and we regret participating in tobacco farming

because it is more burdensome than we anticipated”.
Farmers in Kenya
 “I am unhappy with growing tobacco because I had to argue with the tobacco
procurement station about grading."
Farmer in China
Women perceived as unable to lead

 “Women are not good at communication. They may be able to communicate with the
fellow villagers, but not able to communicate with officials at township, county and
provincial levels, so cannot solve some problems”.

 “The director should lead the whole village. Woman has no idea how to take the lead, so
woman cannot be the director”.
Male tobacco farmer in China

 “Women are not assertive when they need to make big decisions. It seems that the
director and party secretary are facing such heavy pressure that no woman dares to say
‘I can do it’. “
Women’s group leader in China

48
Tobacco farm economic return and alternative crops

Poor return and unfair grading

 “You start tobacco activities from the month of August to May the following year- when
the last tobacco to be sold. The lump sum money is not enough compared to the work
done for almost 12 months”.
Farmer in Kenya

 “We produced 200 kg of cured tobacco. I was expecting about three million shillings; We
got less than half of what we expected”.

 “We expected that our tobacco produce will be graded as # 1; tobacco company graded
our produce as # 3 We got very low price”.

 “Grading is unfair, prices are low and unpredictable. We are more in debt. Payment is
slow”.
Farmers in Tanzania

 “We think the color and moisture are the same as last year, but the grading was high
last year and low this year. We don’t know why”.

 “The grading was not good. My sister and I went to the tobacco procurement station
and argued with them”.

 “We think it is good, but the tobacco procurement station says not good, too moist.”

Farmers in China

Alternative crops and alternative employment

 “I want to be engaged more in maize and rice farming. Unfortunately the market price
is very low and we have no guarantee to sell these produce”.

 “Once we tried planting more tomatoes, potatoes and vegetables instead of tobacco.
We took our produce to the market. The buyers offered very low price. We have to sell
our produce at this very price; otherwise the produce will rot”.

 “In this area there is no prospect for non farm employment”.

 “We can sell milk to households every morning, but we need to do livestock breeding,
and also a three wheeler motor cycle to distribute the milk”.

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 “Even if we know how to cultivate other crops, such as groundnuts, sunflower seeds,
rice and vegetables, the selling price has to be attractive. We have to be provided with
fertilizers, seeds, chemicals and extension services at concessionary prices”.
Farmers in Tanzania
Changing society and Aspirations
 “I want to learn information technology.”
(Young girl in China who had worked in
Zhejiang province and returned to home village)

 “Men all used to work in the coal mines, but the mines were closed down due to safety
concerns. Now men stay at home.”
(Male tobacco farmer in China)

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-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. End -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

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