Alternative crops

Sir, - The best message from any Prime Minister till today in the no-tobacco mission comes from Mr. A. B. Vajpayee asking tobacco farmers to grow alternative crops (The Hindu, June 23). The occasion was the inauguration of Indo-American Cancer Institute and Research Centre in Hyderabad on June 22.

Now that the Prime Minister sees a strong link between tobacco and cancer, it will carry enormous weight for the anti-tobacco movement. His message had a profound personal note when he mentioned that he lost both his father and mother to cancer. I have been repeatedly writing as to why the government should be funding the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) at Rajahmundry whose main activities are improving the quality and yield of tobacco crop. The answer has now come from the Prime Minister if we can read his mind.

The CTRI should now onwards be totally engaged in suggesting economically viable alternative crops to tobacco. Let CTRI be renamed as CATRI - Central Alternative-to-Tobacco Research Institute.

On the issue of growing tobacco, the Prime Minister further said that ``even if tobacco was grown, it must be exported and local consumption avoided.'' I beg to differ here because tobacco menace is universal and we should not export a ``poisonous'' crop. Moreover, the exported tobacco will come back to India in the form of cigarettes.

Bharat R. Sant,

Hyderabad

Sir, - This has reference to your editorial ``Moving away from tobacco'' (The Hindu, June 26). Your advice is timely and bound to bring relief to the tobacco growers. The agricultural scientists and technologists have been advocating cultivation of oilseed crops such as mustard, rapeseed or groundnut in place of tobacco at least in some selected areas. The yields of oilseed crops have been proved to be quite promising in the fields where traditionally tobacco is grown.

The recurring tobacco glut requires a multi-pronged approach. Surplus tobacco can be processed for recovery of solanesol, a versatile oleo-resin finding extensive applications in pharmaceutical industry.

Another chemical compound which can be recovered from tobacco is nicotine whose uses and applications run into legion. Nicotine sulphate is a plant insecticide par excellence. Solanesol finds immediate export market and nicotine sulphate is readily marketed as a plant pesticide.

G. Azeemoddin,

Anantapur (AP)

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