Tobacco Growing Banned In Morobo County

This article was last updated on May 25, 2022

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Moses Simon Soro, the county commissioner issued the order and said that the five feddans of tobacco have to be cut down because tobacco growing in the county is illegal.

Soro pointed out that the priority of the county is to be food secure and supply the whole of South Sudan to improve livelihood, environment and economic prosperity.

He added that there is need to transform agriculture from traditional methods to modern methods of farming so as to increase on the agricultural outputs and raise productivity level of the farmers in the county.

Soro said to achieve food security and sustainability; the land needs not to be misused by the use of fertilizers in tobacco growing.

He added that growing tobacco destroys soil fertility by using artificial fertilizers in the long run and causes deforestation during the curing of the tobacco which may be dangerous to the environment, as farmers resort to cutting down trees to dry up their tobacco leaves.

Soro warned tobacco growers to stop planting tobacco in the county or face huge losses when found.

“Growing tobacco in Morobo County is illegal and any body found must face huge losses on his own,” said Soro.

Last year 2012, the Central Equatoria State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had tough debate over the growing of tobacco in the state as cash crop.

There is fear that many farmers may resort to tobacco growing rather than concentrating on growing food crops which may lead to food insecurity in the state and the whole of South Sudan as production of food crops fall.

Both state and National Ministry of Health are warning the public of the health hazard that resulted from smoking tobacco as it destroys the lungs leading to death.