Tobacco and Food Security: When Growing Cigarettes Competes With Growing Food
In tobacco-dependent regions, land that could grow food grows tobacco instead. The competition between tobacco and food crops affects food security at the household and national level. The food-tobacco tradeoff is a hidden dimension of the tobacco epidemic.
In Malawi, land that could grow maize—the staple food—grows tobacco instead. The farmer earns cash from tobacco and buys food—a rational economic decision. But when tobacco prices fall or the crop fails, the household faces food insecurity. **The competition between tobacco and food crops is a hidden dimension of the tobacco epidemic. The land, labor, and water devoted to tobacco could be devoted to food. The transition from tobacco to food crops is not just a health intervention—it's a food security intervention.**
