Replacing Tobacco with Alternatives Crops: Perspectives from Smallholder Farmers in Uganda

Tobacco farming is associated with a number of negative environmental (deforestation; water pollution; soil degradation; biodiversity losses), social effects (increasing poverty; bonded labour and child labour; food security and malnutrition) and occupational health and safety risks (green tobacco sickness; pesticide intoxication; respiratory disorders; dermatological disorders; cancer). The study therefore sought to find sustainable alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers in Hoima district. The interest was to learn about the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of tobacco farmers to alternative crops, If willing to shift, why tobacco farmers ought to shift to alternatives, and what potential alternatives would be suitable. This knowledge would be of great importance to better understand what policy should consider in ensuring and protecting tobacco farmers’ livelihoods for community development.