Friday, March 29, 2024

Japan Tobacco International denies sponsoring farmers damaging the environment

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JAPAN Tobacco International (JTI) has said it was the only tobacco company that was encouraging farmers to plant trees.

JTI Corporate Affairs and Communications Manager Litiya Matakala said yesterday that it was the responsibility and mandatory in the contracts with the farmers to be planting trees.

On Tuesday, Chief Chanje threatened to ban growing of tobacco in his chiefdom if environment was not preserved.

Mr Matakala said JTI farmers have reached 100 percent of the tree planting in Eastern Province.

He explained that JTI was the only out- grower company that was promoting the protection of the environment through tree planting.

Mr Matakala explained that the farmers started the programme of planting trees about three years ago.

“We have 300 farmers there (in Chief Chanje) who are on the forefront of planting trees. This is the company’s responsibility to do so and we started the programme of planting trees in 2013,”he said.

And Eastern Fodya Association of Zambia (EFAZ) chairperson Franklyn Mwale said the farmers who had grown tobacco under Tombwe had responded favourably by planting trees.

Mr Mwale said this was after Chief Zumwanda of the Chewa people in Lundazi District also threatened to ban the growing of tobacco because of causing deforestation mainly during the curling of tobacco.

Mr Mwale promised to seek an audience with Chief Chanje to find- out about the way forward after the threats to stop the growing of tobacco in his chiefdom.

6 COMMENTS

  1. @hightime thats why an NGO should take up a program whereby villagers are paid to collect seed grow up seedlings and plant out. Its called re forestation. All mines, tabacco companies, agricultural projects or logging businesses must contribute.
    Is there a young entrepreneur out there who can put business plan together and get CEEC loan
    .

    • You are quite right Masalamuso – charcoal burners, like everyone else, are fighting for an income. If everyone involved in deforestation – as you mentioned above – could pay a small levy toward re forestation and that the villagers planting the seedlings could benefit from it we would have a win win situation. The problem is to find the right people to run the program, people who can make sure the money is used for what it is intended for.
      Perhaps you are the entrepreneur needed to start up something like this.

  2. The BIGGEST threat to our trees /environment in Zambia today is the visionless corrupt P.F governmen led by the Drunkard Edward, due to load shedding, which means Zambians need more charcoal (malasha) than is environmentally sustainable.
    Meanwhile in State House it’s business as usual with more & more non profitable travel & touring by the dancing Drunk, & his Wife, while there is no will or urgency to end load shedding once & for all.

  3. Title must read Japanese Tobacco International Company Denies Sponsorship ….
    ..ad compared to….Sponsoring…
    which would mean that the company is refuting accusations that it sponsored the destruction of environment.

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