kompong siem district, Kompong Cham province – The French planters may be gone, but tobacco has made a comeback here in the farmlands along the Mekong River.
Where French plantation owners once worked with local farmers to produce tobacco for sale abroad, farmers of a different generation are now partnering with British American Tobacco to grow and harvest tobacco on fertile soil in five districts in Kompong Cham province.
BAT came to the area in the late 1990s and persuaded local farmers to switch from corn and sesame to tobacco by promising to pay a good price at harvest time. BAT now works with 800 farmers, giving free seeds from Malaysia and sending experts every week to inspect plants and offer general advice. Pesticides and fertilizer are also provided, although BAT deducts the cost when it buys the tobacco from farmers.
Holding a branch of dried tobacco leaves, Mich Chhay Heang, 44, proudly tells of the four tons of dried tobacco he recently harvested from two hectares.
For the father of five, the arrangement with BAT represents stability, even if his contract with the company forbids him to sell to other buyers, he said.
“With BAT, we never have to worry about the market,” he said, pointing to the empty tobacco storage unit located under his house. “Whatever we have, we can sell all of it.”
But a stable income doesn’t necessarily mean a hefty profit, Mich Chhay Heang said. The tobacco company usually pays from 1,300 to 5,000 riel (about $0.33 to $1.28) per kilogram, depending on the quality. And since the quality is determined by BAT employees, so is the price.
Last year, Mich Chhay Heang’s tobacco brought in just 2,000 to 3,000 riel (about $0.51 to $0.77) per kilogram, bringing him a small profit.
“If the company still stays with us…myself and the villagers will continue planting for another few years. But if the company does not increase its price, then maybe we will change our mind,” he said.
During French colonial times, tobacco farmers prospered, according to Thong Sat, director of the provincial Department of Information.
Vong Run, 73, complained that the price the new company is paying is lower than what farmers earned during the French era, which ended in 1953.
Some farmers claimed they had to sign inflexible contracts with BAT before the company distributed the free seeds.
Once the tobacco has been harvested, the price is lowered, they said.
BAT chairman Kong Triv said the company is working hard to develop export markets in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
“The company has made a small profit by exports. And the farmers have not lost their jobs,” he said.
Much of the tobacco BAT buys in Cambodia is shipped to a sister company in Sri Lanka, BAT spokesman Kun Lim said. In 1999, 220 tons were exported. That increased to 350 tons last year and is expected to rise to 600 tons this year.
Tobacco grown in Kompong Cham and Kandal provinces is also used by BAT in local cigarette brands, such as the best-selling Ara.
About 56 percent of the leaves used to make Ara are locally grown. BAT estimates a jump to 72 percent this year.
