A lobby has faulted the move by the government to sign a trade pact with South Korea to increase tobacco exports.
This is after President William Ruto signed a bilateral agreement on trade that will see Kenya increase its exports of tea, coffee and tobacco.
He signed the agreement during a three-day visit to South Korea.
The Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance has asked the President to reconsider his decision.
They expressed fear that this will see the country increase tobacco planting amid efforts by various stakeholders to provide alternative farming to tobacco farmers.
“We are concerned because, despite the promise by the President, it is likely the number of Kenyans killed by tobacco through diseases such as cancer will increase,” KETCA national coordinator Thomas Lindi said.
Numerous studies done in Kenya show tobacco farming is unprofitable, leaving farmers poor and sick with green leaf tobacco sickness, and other diseases.
This has seen the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization in collaboration with the government launch the Tobacco-Free Farms project in Western Kenya in March.
Lindi said the support enables the farmers to stop tobacco-growing contractual agreements and switch to alternative food crops that will help feed communities instead of harming their health with tobacco.
“The Tobacco Control Act also commits the government to continually phase out tobacco farming in Kenya,” he said.
“Any treaty or agreement that binds Kenya to promote tobacco farming is against the Tobacco Control Act and is therefore illegal. We ask the government to immediately cancel aspects of the Kenya-South Korea agreement that touch on tobacco.”
In Migori for instance, farmers have planted high-iron beans as an alternative crop to tobacco.
The UN agencies are providing training, quality inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, and a ready market for the harvest, through the WFP’s local procurement initiatives.
Kenya has been helping tobacco farmers shift to alternative and viable crops growing with a key focus on high tobacco-growing counties.
The counties include Kirinyaga, Embu, Busia, Bungoma, Meru, Homa Bay and Migori.
This will help the farmers have an alternative source of income, eradicate extreme hunger and abject poverty and counter negative effects on the environment.
Tobacco is a key cash crop for at least 55,000 farmers in Kenya, mostly from the Western and South Eastern parts of the country.
Though the overall contribution to the Kenyan economy is relatively small (about 0.03 per cent of the GDP), tobacco is an important economic activity in the regions where it is farmed.
Apart from being labour-intensive compared to other crops, tobacco farming is associated with environmental stresses and health risks associated with green tobacco sickness.
This is acute nicotine poisoning in leaf harvesting and smoke inhalation during leaf curing.
Tobacco is a leading risk factor for most NCDs and the greatest preventable cause of death. This, if countered will help prevent the progress of tobacco-related NCDs.
In 2004, Kenya made history by being the second country (after Norway) in the world to sign and ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on the same day.
After that, Kenya passed the Tobacco Control Act in 2007 which seeks to end the rising deaths caused by tobacco use.
“It also seeks to cut diseases triggered by tobacco use, such as cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. It guarantees tax increases on tobacco products; smoke-free public spaces; ban of tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship; and health information and warnings,” KETCA chairperson Joel Gitali said.
It is estimated that by the end of this year, exposure to tobacco smoke and other tobacco products will have killed more than 9,000 Kenyans.
At least 40,000 Kenyans will have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer, many of them caused by tobacco use.