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Tobacco floors in Lilongwe, Malawi, 2023. Photo credit: ITGA
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Tobacco floors in Harare, Zimbabwe, 2023. Photo credit: ITGA
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ESG officer Silfia Wulandari (left) and agronomist Rifqi Efendi (right) inspecting a fallow field near MDR’s headquarters (back-ground). Photo credit: MDR
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Agronomist Rifqi Efendi (left) and ESG officer Silfia Wulandari (right) discussing matters of the day at MDR’s head office. Photo credit: MDR
Tobacco Asia spotlights crop rotation and co-cropping practices from around the world.
Co-cropping, also known as crop diversification, is an agricultural technique where plots of the main crop – in our case, tobacco – alternate with plots planted with other cash crops, for example maize, legumes, or grains, during the same crop season. The principal point of the method is to provide impoverished farmers with an additional income source or fresh produce for their own kitchen. It is most commonly practiced in underdeveloped countries, where it also is encouraged by some governmental and private agricultural organizations like the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA). It is less common in developed nations where farming often involves the extensive use of agricultural machinery and relies less heavily on manual labor.
An intriguing variant of co-cropping, though scarcely deployed, is to actually grow different crops simultaneously in once single land plot. Options of implementation are that a farmer could alternate rows of two crop types with one another; or randomly intersperse stands of the secondary crop type among the principal crop. Another possibility would be to surround the main crop field with a “fringe” of secondary crop. Leading leaf merchant Socotab several years ago introduced this quite elusive co-cropping variant to its contract farmers in North Macedonia, for example, whereas the secondary crop is hazelnut bushes. When forming a hedge around the tobacco field, the bushes guard against wind erosion; and when interspersed amidst tobacco plants, the bushes can help slow water evaporation by providing shade. However, this is actually the only instance of this technique that Tobacco Asia has encountered to-date. We are not aware of any other examples, though they could well exist.
Co-cropping in southern Africa
Of course, when it comes to the more common co-cropping variant, crop diversification, there are examples aplenty. It is implemented to one extent or another by the majority of farmers in all three leading tobacco producer countries in southern Africa – Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia – though the practice cannot be fully utilized everywhere. According to the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA), smallholder farm sizes often restrict diversification, because it would curb the acreage dedicated to the all-important tobacco crop. However, large-scale growers often lease additional land to work on complementary crops, most commonly maize.
From Zimbabwe’s northern neighbor, the Tobacco Association of Zambia (TAZ) reported back to Tobacco Asia that small tobacco growers practice co-cropping as a matter of course, again primarily planting maize. Large estates, on the other hand, either grow soybeans or they cultivate seed maize for distribution to agricultural communities. However, while tobacco crops luckily remained viable during the 2023/2034 season, an extended dry spell caused other crops to fail. And rather than maize, cattle is the actual main supplementary income earner for farmers in Zambia’s southern and central provinces.
In Malawi, one of the world’s leading burley producers, the co-cropping scope is similar to that of Zambia, with both small and large-scale growers focusing on maize, according to the TAMA Farmers Trust. While some large commercial growers have attempted producing macadamia nuts, this particular crop, though lucrative, didn’t really catch on in the end. However, Malawi’s Agricultural Research and Extension Trust (ARET) told Tobacco Asia that there do exist pockets where legumes, peanuts, soybeans, pigeon peas, and cowpeas serve as the co-crops of choice.
ITGA, which had kindly arranged for the African interviews, said it has always supported diversification efforts that involve growing complementary crops in addition to tobacco. In fact, many ITGA members have actively engaged in such practices for a long time. Nevertheless, tobacco is often the most lucrative option when compared to other crops that generate considerably less income. And that, ITGA said, was a key driver for deciding whether or not to co-crop and on what scale.
Crop rotation in southern Africa
Concerning crop rotation, where single main crops are alternatingly planted season by season on the same land plot (i.e. 1 year tobacco, 1 year another crop, then tobacco again, and so on), southern Africa’s producer countries display quite similar characteristics to co-cropping. ZTA once again cited the restricted farm sizes that prevented most farmers from following a dedicated crop rotation cycle. Instead, the little available land was cultivated every season in a patchwork of different crops, the main crop of which was tobacco. However, there also are instances where farmers with larger land holdings may alternate tobacco with cattle feed such as Rhodes grass (lat. Chloris gayana).
TAZ and ZTA likewise reported Rhodes grass and other species of pasture grasses as the typical plants of choice… if and when crop rotation is practiced. In Malawi, crop rotation is mostly undertaken by large-scale commercial growers only, while smallholder farmers are not strictly engaged, according to TAMA.
Europe: only crop rotation is relevant
Unsurprisingly, the African situation differs considerably in producer regions such as Europe and Southeast Asia, where crop rotation constitutes long-established agricultural routine. In Poland, Europe’s biggest tobacco producer by far, “co-cropping has never been a tradition while crop rotation is a fixture for all sectors of agriculture, not only tobacco,” said Miroslaw Pekala, c.e.o. of Lukowa Tobacco. He explained to Tobacco Asia that the typical rotational cycle was quite rigid as far as the tobacco growing sector was concerned, including the alternate crops. “We plant tobacco for 2 or even 3 years, then switch to 1 year of wheat or rapeseed, followed by 1 year of maize, then 1 year of wheat before once again reverting to 2 or 3 years of tobacco.” Pekala added that this cycle had proven to be an excellent safeguard against soil depletion.
Indonesia: a simplified crop rotation cycle
Just like in Poland, the risk of soil depletion also is the main driver for crop rotation in Southeast Asia’s largest tobacco producer country, Indonesia – though the crop schedule is much simpler. “The main rotational crop typically is rice, particularly in Indonesian regions where rice cultivation has been traditionally prevalent,” said Rifqi Efendi, an agronomist with East Java-based merchant company, Mangli Djaya Raya (MDR). “Other possible alternate crops such as corn may be selected [instead of rice], but the decision is always based on factors such as regional climate, soil conditions, and market demand.” Efendi cited as an example farmers in certain districts of Central Java, who for the past two years have foregone rice as a rotational crop and opted for maize because “maize was in higher market demand and commanded a higher price than rice at the time.”
Up to three harvests per year
Indonesia is of course a country that, thanks to its sub-tropical, balmy climate without long, cold winters, enjoys up to three harvests each year, allowing for a rather unusual crop cycle when compared to Europe. “We plant alternate crops before and after the actual tobacco season,” Efendi told Tobacco Asia. According to him, a typical schedule – though there are variations – extends over three years and would look as follows:
- Year 1: Rice – Tobacco – Corn
- Year 2: Rice – Tobacco – Rice
- Year 3: Corn – Tobacco – Rice
The schedule then restarts again with the Year 1 crop succession. However, Efendi pointed out that plants from the Solanaceae (a.k.a. nightshadow) family – such as tomatoes, potatoes, or bell peppers – are avoided as rotational crops. “These are known to host pests and diseases that can adversely affect tobacco plants,” he said.
But there still also is a certain risk factor when it comes to using rice as the alternate crop. “The water-intensive nature of rice cultivation can indeed pose challenges for subsequent tobacco crops, particularly during the harvest period due to water-logged soil,” said MDR’s ESG officer, Silfia Wulandari. Rice fields typically remain flooded for months on end. That prolonged water exposure tends to transform soil into mud, which in turn may present difficulties when planting and tilling the subsequent tobacco crop.
Co-cropping has benefits, but…
While MDR stated that 100% of its contracted farmers routinely engaged in crop rotation, the company also said that co-cropping was “indeed not commonly practiced in Indonesia.” Wulandari said this was primarily due to concerns regarding the potential interference of plant-disrupting organisms from other crops with the growth of tobacco. While she conceded that “co-cropping has been demonstrated to offer numerous benefits such as enhanced soil fertility, pest control, and diversified income streams for farmers,” the prevalent focus on tobacco monoculture in Indonesia reflected a cautious approach to co-cropping” that “aimed at optimizing yield and quality while mitigating potential risks associated with co-cropping practices.”
Crop rotation helps spread out certain risks
Diversifying crop rotations beyond the established rice-tobacco-corn cycle could contribute to reducing the need for costly chemical fertilizers, of course. But Wulandari pointed out that Indonesian farmers enjoyed easier access to chemical fertilizers over organic ones, which makes the former generally preferred over their organic counterparts.
Furthermore, crop rotation could help spread out risks associated with unpredictable extreme weather patterns, market fluctuations, and pest outbreaks. “If one crop fails or experiences reduced yields, others in the rotation can compensate, providing a buffer against economic losses for the farmers,” she elaborated. “Crop rotation contributes to long-term agricultural sustainability,” she added. “It supports resilient farming systems that are better equipped to adapt to changing environmental conditions and mitigate climate change impacts.”
Wulandari’s colleague, Rifqi Efendi, commented that from an agronomical viewpoint crop rotation was “a powerful tool to breaking the disease cycle, particularly for crops within the same botanical family as tobacco.” It disrupts the buildup of pests and pathogens specific to tobacco, reducing the risk of outbreaks and ultimately improves crop health and yield. “Overall, for both our farmers and us as a company, incorporating crop rotation into agricultural systems offers a range of benefits.”