Farmers grow tobacco for the following reasons:
• It is a legally traded agricultural commodity for which, in global terms, there continues to be brisk demand;
• It thrives on the less fertile soils on the farm or region;
• There is no better cash crop in most environments suited to tobacco;
• As a rule, sale is guaranteed and price negotiated or determined by free auctions;
• Holdings are generally small in tobacco areas, necessitating high value cash crops to ensure family income;
• Good returns can be achieved per unit area of land;
• Tobacco-growing attracts sound infrastructure providing financial aid, technical assistance, transport and storage;
especially in third world countries.
• Successful production of other crops and animal rearing is often more feasible when a high value crop,such as as tobacco, is part of the farming system;
• The wealth generated by leaf tobacco production helps to improve quality of life and attracts educational, health and social facilities in, otherwise, relatively impoverished, rural areas.
