The paradoxes of tobacco agribusiness among smallholder farmers in western Santa Catarina

Abstract

The text addresses the “mismatches” of Brazilian policies regarding the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), under the auspices of the World Health Organization, ratified by Brazil in 2005. One of the points of conflict is the decrease / eradication of tobacco cultivation. The Brazilian government, in a politically correct stance, bans smoking from public space, decreases the number of smokers, but officially encourages tobacco cultivation to increase the trade balance. Despite the ratification of the Convention by Brazil, we find the cultivation in small property, in family work, with high pesticide load, in integration with the tobacco industry, that is, agribusiness, little remembered, when mentioned. The relationship of vertical integration turns tobacco into a poor cousin of agribusiness, in relation to poultry and pig farmers, given the low capitalization of integrated families. The research is qualitative, involving two municipalities. We interviewed twenty tobacco farmers and four union leaders. We also used documentary and statistical sources to complement and deepen the data obtained in the field. The research is in progress. As preliminary results, we note that tobacco growing is not an option for small farmers, but one of the only ways out to stay in agriculture. Farmers with higher capitalization refuse to plant tobacco. Public policies have an oblique look towards tobacco growers.