Home  Argumentative papers Tobacco Industry Tobacco Future Uncertain, Not Hopeless
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Tobacco Future Uncertain, Not Hopeless |
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Tobacco Future Uncertain, Not Hopeless
by Will Snell In "Uncertain Future," Dixie Watts Reaves and Wayne Purcell provide an excellent depiction of the challenges facing today's tobacco farmers (FORUM, Fall 1999). Indeed, U.S. tobacco farmers have for many years faced a volatile and unpredictable future, but the situation today has escalated the uncertainty to unprecedented levels. This situation not only threatens the economic future of thousands of U.S. tobacco farmers but also has serious consequences for the local economies of many tobacco-dependent rural communities. Over the years, many areas of the South have reduced their economic dependency on tobacco through agricultural diversification and off-farm employment opportunities. There are still pockets in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, however, that remain vulnerable to an unstable tobacco economy. Many tobacco-dependent counties in these states face limited off-farm employment opportunities, low educational attainment levels, and personal income growth well below the national average. Additional income-generating opportunities and educational advancement are critical to the long-term growth of these economies. In the short term, rapidly declining tobacco quotas will certainly have noticeable adverse effects on many of the agricultural and nonagricultural businesses in these areas. Despite the challenges facing the U.S. tobacco sector, worldwide trends toward increased tobacco consumption and a demand for high-quality American tobacco indicate a niche market for the tobacco produced in the United States. As a consequence, while total demand will likely continue to decline in the foreseeable future, U.S. tobacco will still remain an essential ingredient for tobacco companies as they attempt to meet the increasing global demand for the American blended cigarette. This demand will allow a significant number of efficient U.S. tobacco growers to survive amid this turbulent political, legal, and economic environment. While a viable U.S. tobacco sector will likely survive, the major concern will be the increased concentration of tobacco dollars among fewer farmers and across fewer geographic regions. Concentration depends greatly on what changes occur in the federal tobacco program and in tobacco marketing. In reality, many of the counties that are the most dependent on tobacco are also most vulnerable to the potential elimination of the federal tobacco program or abrupt changes in tobacco marketing. In response to anticipated reduced demand and concentration of tobacco revenues, policymakers and farm leaders are examining various ways to utilize tobacco settlement funds to soften the decline in the tobacco economy. Funds that come directly to the growers were part of a side agreement to the national tobacco settlement known as Phase II. While these funds will provide some compensation for lost income opportunities, additional funds evolving directly from master settlement agreements, or Phase I, are critical to sustain economic growth in many tobacco-producing areas of the South. Policymakers, farm leaders, and local community leaders must work together creatively to identify investment opportunities for these funds that will provide the greatest benefit to agricultural producers and rural communities. These regions need a new influx of capital to be invested in programs that, among other things, will do the following: * provide grants and other economic incentives for agricultural diversification and improved production practices, * make available low-interest loans and overall improved access to credit, * identify new and sustainable agricultural markets, * provide cost-share programs that benefit the environment, * develop entrepreneurship skills among farmers and other operators of small rural businesses, * attract new agribusinesses and other off-farm employment opportunities that offer decent wages and benefits, and * invest in overall improvement in infrastructure and education in rural areas. Without adequate and wise investments, individuals in many of these tobacco-dependent rural communities will continue to suffer financially because of the changing and declining tobacco economy of the 21st century.
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