tradition
F
armer Edilson Sacramento is 48 and does not even remember for how
many generations the family has been devoted to cultivating the Brazil
Bahia tobacco variety, utilized for the production of cigars. “My father
planted it. My grandfather, too. For us, it is a tradition”, he says. In the
district of Mil Peixes, municipality of Muritiba, in the company of his wife
and children, he runs a 9-hectare farm, of which, 2 hectares are devoted to the Bra-
zil Bahia variety of tobacco. The remaining hectares of the small holding are split
into lemon and orange orchards. Although occupying only 25% of the farm, it is to-
bacco that is responsible for the majority of the income earned by the Sacramentos.
“For every one thousand plants, wemanage to harvest 10 arrobas of tobacco, which
translates into reasonable profits. Tobacco is the flagship or our holding”, he notes.
Tobaccofor
cigarsisthe
mainsourceof
incomeforabout
2thousandsmall-
scalefarmersin
RecôncavoBaiano,
withastrong
impactonthe
regionaleconomy
So as tomaintain this stability in light of a confusedmarket, the companies associ-
ated with the Bahia State Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco-BA) have resorted to
tools as minimum price per arroba, assurance of technical assistance and projects in
partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). In order
to hold in high esteem the cigar tobacco growers, the official event commemorating
the Global TobaccoGrowers Daywas held in Cruz das Almas, organized by the Sectoral
Chamber of the tobacco supply chainandby entities identifiedwith the activity, which
normally fight on behalf of public policies for the supply chain in Brazil. It was the first
time the commemoration took place outside the Southern Region of Brazil.
The date devoted to the tobacco farmers is celebrated on 28th October, but the
busy official agenda of the representatives of the sector convinced the organizers to
anticipate the activities in Cruz das Almas for October 20, in the morning. The pro-
gram included lectures focused on such themes as “Conservation practices in small
rural holdings”, given by professor Marcos Silva, of the Federal University in Recôn-
cavo da Bahia (UFRB); and “Vegetable Surveillance Initiative”, by agronomist Aurino
Melo Junior, from the Bahia State Phytosanitary Agency (Adab).
According to Souza, this type of initiative plays a fundamental role in the develop-
ment of the tobacco supply chain in Bahia. He also suggested a partnership between
universities and tobacco growing companies with the objective to aid the farmers
in taking care of their land. “After working 10 years in Cruz das Almas, this is the first
time I have a chance to talk to so many growers together about a theme of such an
importance for their daily life”, he commented.
n
Family
Cruz das Almas, in Bahia, was the venue for the
celebration of the World Tobacco Growers Day
Cássio Fernando Filter
40
BAFORADA
Puffing
Fonte:
SindiTabaco-BA
Tabaco para charuto emnúmeros
Produção de charutos em2015:
14milhões de unidades
Empregos diretos:
4mil
Empregos indiretos:
10mil
Produtores:
2mil
Área cultivada:
2mil hectares
Média de cultivo:
20mil pés/ha
Rendimento/ha:
1 tonelada de tabaco para preenchimento
800 kg de tabaco para capa do charuto
O ápice da colheita acontece entre o
final de julho e o início de outubro.
Variedade
Área Cultivada
Brasil Bahia
1000 hectares
Sumatra
800 hectares
Cubra
200 hectares
Cerca de 95%do tabaco para charuto
produzido no Brasil é exportado em folha,
semser transformado emcharuto.
Principaismercados:
China, Alemanha, Holanda e Suíça.
A China consome cerca de 20%da produção.
