Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/743340
58 tobaccoasia / Issue 5, 2016 November / December Tobacco field in sub-Saharan Africa at seven weeks growers saving $230 per ton of tobacco cured. The transition to POKS also spared an estimated 909,636 trees from being cut down for fuel. Once again this particular initiative had complementing effects on two pillars simultane- ously, the "people" and the "environment". AOI: strategic sustainability engagement As countries have shifted from auction markets to the integrated production system (IPS), a production model which establishes contractual relationships between tobacco buyers and farmers, AOI gained enhanced visibility into the grower base. This in turn allowed the company to strategically invest in sustain- ability programs wherever they are needed. "For example, as [our] African origins have shifted from auction to IPS over the past several years, we have made significant investments in sustain- ability programs there," said Costa. The positive effects of those investments are most tangible: By the end of 2008, AOI had directly contracted 600 grow- ers through IPS. By 2016, that number had skyrocketed to 60,000. In 2008, these 60,000 growers produced 2.05 million kilograms (mkg) of tobacco and just 1.2 mkg of food. Through improved agricultural practices achieved by the company's sustainability investments, they today not only produce 84 mkg of tobacco, but their food production also has skyrocketed to a staggering 86 mkg. As part of its sustainability programs in African countries, AOI since 2011 also planted 56 million surviving trees to counteract deforestation, built 241 boreholes and wells to ensure irrigation and provide a better drinking water supply and has renovated 26 schools in farming communities. Education is key The keys to successful implementation of AOI's sustainability programs are continuous farmer education and farm monitoring, according to Costa: "Our farmer education program generally involves both group training programs and one-on-one training." But as no two origins are alike, the exact approach must be customized to the needs and cultural traditions of each origin. "In some areas of the world, we host day-long or multi-day events for farmers to come together with Alliance One technicians, fellow farmers and third-party experts to learn about topics such as CPA application, child la- bor prevention, farm safety, and financial literacy," said Costa. "But in other areas, the trainings may be just a few hours long and topics will be related to specific mechanization initiatives. Where ap- propriate, we will encourage farmers to bring their wives to the trainings as the entire family may be involved in the farm operation." During multiple farm visits throughout the growing season, AOI field technicians also monitor farmers for good ag- ricultural practices (GAP) compliance and wheth- er they adhere to the company's agricultural labor practices (ALP) program. "Whenever there is an instance of non-compli- ance, we work with the grower to understand the root cause of the issue and collaboratively develop a solution. Each visit is documented in Alliance One's award-winning growers management sys- tem, which is an in-house software tool that the company uses to track trends among our grow- ers and provide real-time visibility into our farmer base," explained Costa. Star Tobacco International: focus sub- Saharan Africa Meanwhile, Turkey-based and Hong-Kong head- quartered Star Tobacco International (STI) has put a particular focus on sustainable tobacco growing in sub-Saharan Africa, the region where the company is most active and from where it ac- quires the bulk of its merchandise. According to Dr. Iqbal Lambat, the group ceo, it is here where the company's sustainability approach boils down to enhancing three core areas: GAP, improved crop management (ICM), and farmer economics. In 2013, STI launched an intensive tobacco sus- tainability program in Southern Africa under the acronym FEADES – "farmer empowerment, ag- ricultural development, economic sustainability". "[FEADES] was undertaken with the Central Bank of COMESA towards using tobacco farmer sustainability as a catalyst for creating a 'green rev- olution' that would empower small-scale farmers in five of the key sub-Saharan African countries, namely Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe," explained Lambat. Unfortunately, the implementation of FEADES has been tem- porarily delayed due to the troublesome havoc caused in the market by over- and under-supply fluctuations during the last two tobacco seasons of 2014 and 2015. But Lambat harbors high hopes that FEADES will be put into action within the next two years. The implementation model being considered is to create "cluster communities" – each comprising of 50 farmers and their families - to engage in the three sustainability core areas mentioned. "This [implementation model] will allow for a more economical deployment of investment per community and a phased roll-out," said Lambat. Courtesy of Star Tobacco International