Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC) has a history of over 100 years in Sri Lanka during which time it has become an integral part of the country's agriculture and business sectors. The company's involvement in the agricultural sector extends over 70 years with leaf growing operations starting as far back as the 1950's.
CTC's leaf growing operations continue to infuse value into the rural economy amounting to Rs. 1.5 billion last year and the company's interventions and support extended to tobacco farmers ensures cultivation is burden free to the state.
Tobacco is a cash crop farmers opt to grow during the ‘Yala’ season when water is scarce for paddy cultivation. The company uses 100% locally grown tobacco leaf, thus eliminating the outflow of foreign currency, accounting approximately to Rs. 2 billion, which would otherwise be spent on leaf importation. Over 20,000 farmers across the island supply CTC's leaf requirement using less than 0.1% of the total arable land in the country - a feat achieved through CTC's constant guidance on improving productivity and yield.
“I am humbly proud that we have been able to provide our leaf farmer community with over Rs. 140 million worth of agricultural inputs on a credit basis annually. We also provide them with a multitude of employment opportunities year on year. As such, I strongly believe that our involvement in this industry has an unparalleled impact on the socio-economic development of farming communities around the country,” CTC's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Michael Koest said.
CTC offers tobacco famers the assurance of purchase through the forward contract system meaning that the full crop of tobacco grown by them is purchased by the company at a pre-agreed, competitive price. Unlike with most other crops grown locally, CTC pays an average price of Rs. 400 per kilo of tobacco produced, ensuring farmer families with a guaranteed monthly income.
The company has introduced many good agricultural practices throughout their leaf supply chain while its sustainability initiatives have enriched the lives of farmers and uplifted the local economy significantly. The Company's efforts have earned them recognition as pioneers of agricultural best practices in Sri Lanka.
“CTC was the first company to introduce SALT (Sloping Agriculture Land Technology) as early on as 1994. We are proud of the fact that we have also introduced several other benchmark agricultural best practices such as paddy husk fueled curing and the barn automation system that have completely eliminated the use of fuel wood in the tobacco curing process,” notes Rukshan Gunatilake, CTC's Supply Chain Director.
“Furthermore tobacco growing activities are done in compliance with the Sustainable Tobacco Production (STP) standards, and we ensure that soil fertility is maintained by following practices such as intercropping and by following site specific fertilizer recommendations based on soil mapping,” he further added.
Another key initiative supported by the company is the farmer pension scheme which benefits tobacco farmers upon retirement, ensuring a livelihood even when they are no longer able to grow tobacco. In addition to this the company also awards scholarships to farmers’ children who wish to pursue higher education while helping farmers to develop their agriculture knowledge through international training programmes.
The welfare of tobacco farmers will continue to be a key priority for CTC, with many initiatives being implemented to enrich the socio-economic status of a valuable component of the Sri Lankan farming community.
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