Growing Tobacco

[nam-thip]

Can anyone provide me with some information on growing tobacco in Central Thailand?

My misses wants to plant a couple of Rai of tobacco plants but when I ask her any questions relating to growing the plants she seems to have little knowledge.

The only thing I can get out of her is that when it’s harvested she will not hang and dry the tobacco instead sell it whilst it’s still green and fresh.

[afarang]

I hope you can find someone who has knowledge, but I doubt it. My father-in- law grew some once ,had a prompt visit from the police.I suspect you need to talk to the Dept. Of Agriculture, in Bangkok, or talk to your local police station. Preferably both. My impression was that it is strictly controlled and that you need a licence to grow. Which may not be so easy to get. Good luck.

[sarahsbloke]

My wife grew tobacco on her farm, but so does everyone else in Petchabun.

Doesn't know about license though, so not sure what happens.

The processing was fairly easy

Pick leaves

Strip spine

Roll into bundles of 60 leaves, leave under house for 4 days/nights (turns yellow)

Feed into shredding machine, leave to dry on mat for 1 day (turning 1/2 way through)

Put in large transparent plastic sacks outside front door.

Man in van cruises around, calls when he sees bags. pays about 2000bht a bag.

Fresh from the field

Strip spine from leaf

Roll and stack to dry

Shredding machine

Lay out and put in the sun

Ready to sell

They made me work very hard!

Edited December 11, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[afarang]

S.B., Very interesting. I wonder whether the growing is restricted to certain provinces.? I would like to know more about the legalities. It was in Buriram Province that the police showed interest. He was growing it for domestic consumption, not for sale.. You said she "grew", not "grows". Is she still growing? I have never seen it gown commercially in Isarn. I wonder why? Any answers?

[sarahsbloke]

S.B., Very interesting. I wonder whether the growing is restricted to certain provinces.? I would like to know more about the legalities. It was in Buriram Province that the police showed interest. He was growing it for domestic consumption, not for sale.. You said she "grew", not "grows". Is she still growing? I have never seen it gown commercially in Isarn. I wonder why? Any answers?

I married the lady in February this year, two weeks on the farm was long enough to last me a lifetime ....... MIL cannot work the farm without my wife and her daughter .... so now farm has a share-cropper growing sticky rice.

Those photos were taken earlier this year on my 'honeymoon' at the family farm. The village consisted of about 100 families growing tobacco on small plots ... 100s of small plots. Hard to see how anyone could keep track of who was growing what or where. No paved roads, just muddy paths in the jungle. Stripping the leaves earned the 'stripper' 1 bht per kilogram!

I wonder if the 'man with a van' was operating some sort of co-operative venture, where he obtained the license for the whole village?

Edited December 11, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[afarang]

I think I may have found some answers. Try Googling, Growing tobacco, thailand.. look for Chiang Mai City life. The tobacco industry in Thailand by Colin. It is the 3rd entry down.It certainly has a lot to do with climate ,and the capital investment required in drying/ curing.

[Lickey]

Or you could take a drive between Thai Bo and Nong Khia, about 30ks, mid January to end of February, you will see Tobbaco fields being harvested and dried on racks in the sun, its non-stop, numerous pumps sucking water from the Mekong for irrigation, its a tobbaco wonderland!

[bifftastic]

My g/f's family grow tobacco up in Chaing Saen in Chiang Rai province.

They rent the land and grow one crop per year of tobacco, two of corn.

There's some kind of co-operative (shown in the photos) where the crops is dried (behind those big white doors)

Haven't heard anything about licences or permissions.

Her sister organises everyone, talks to the bank every year so it seems like it's all above board, and with all the different families involved seems like quite a big operation.

I know they don't make much money out of it and also got stung on the last crop (factory 'boss' said the Laos customs officers nicked all the crop!)

If you own the land then it may be more viable. It's damned hard work, as all farming is. They wok pretty much 7 days a week most of the year, up with the sun and not back home till after dark.

[WatersEdge]

Can anyone point me to a supply of seed?

[oldestswinger]

Loads of people growing it in Yasoton, Maha Sarakham, etc

[bifftastic]

Can anyone point me to a supply of seed?

I'll ask for you. Whereabouts are you ?

[WatersEdge]

Mae Sot, Tak Province, right on Burma border

There are some people who grow Tobacco every year in the mountains,

but it's just for their own smokes and a bit of village sales

With a bit of reconnecting on old friendships,

I might get seed in North Carolina.

Note that Tobacco is a powerful natural insecticide,

as well as the obvious market.

There is a plant closely related to Tobacco which has many times more nicotine content,

and this would of course be a better insecticide.

[nam-thip]

Can anyone point me to a supply of seed?

My misses talked about buying small tobaco plants at what i think was 90 baht per 100.

Edited December 13, 2010 by nam-thip

[nam-thip]

Thanks for replies and some great pictures to show the misses when i'm back 'up jungle' this coming week-end.

The land in question is in Phetchabun.

She knows nothing of having to obtain a licence to grow tobaco.

The reason she talked about growing a few Rai of tobaco is she claims it's easier to look after than Cauliflower which they grew last year which eats up cash with having to run the water pump(fuel costs)and keep buying pest control killer.

By the time the crop was harvested they received peanuts for their efforts.

From what i've seen of small time farming in Thailand it appears to be a whole lot of hard work with little return.

Her father grows rice which goes into feeding them (nine in total) throughout the year which i fully understand.

The rest baffles me.

Edited December 13, 2010 by nam-thip

[bifftastic]

Mae Sot, Tak Province, right on Burma border

There are some people who grow Tobacco every year in the mountains,

but it's just for their own smokes and a bit of village sales

With a bit of reconnecting on old friendships,

I might get seed in North Carolina.

Note that Tobacco is a powerful natural insecticide,

as well as the obvious market.

There is a plant closely related to Tobacco which has many times more nicotine content,

and this would of course be a better insecticide.

Not a million miles away from the enterprise in my photos then. As far as I can recall, they planted young plants, not sure exactly where they got them but they didn't grow them themselves so there must be some kind of nursery production going on somewhere in the area (Chiang Saen, Changwat Chiang Rai)

For the OP, your mrs reckons it'll be easier? Well, from what I've seen it's far from easy, long long hours and not much money back at all.

[WatersEdge]

Not a million miles, no, but not in your backyard either.

Mae Sot is around 7 hours drive south of Chiang Saen.

All the same, I'm fascinated by the prospect of growing Tobacco,

and would drive to buy a supply of seedlings,

or buy just the seed better yet, to have them posted to me.

I have nursery capacity to spare now.

[bifftastic]

Not a million miles, no, but not in your backyard either.

Mae Sot is around 7 hours drive south of Chiang Saen.

All the same, I'm fascinated by the prospect of growing Tobacco,

and would drive to buy a supply of seedlings,

or buy just the seed better yet, to have them posted to me.

I have nursery capacity to spare now.

I'll find out where they get them from and PM you

[nam-thip]

Can anyone point me to a supply of seed?

My misses talked about buying small tobaco plants at what i think was 90 baht per 100.

CORRECTION...................

I really must listen to what her indoors tells me.

Tobaco plants are 100 baht for 1000 and not as first stated 90 baht per 100.

Tobaco plants can be bought by asking the locals in Lomsak who i'm told will point you in the right direction.

[RedBullHorn]

from what i know, you only register as a seller/distributor and pay taxes accordingly, not as a planter.

Like the sticker for lao khao meaning tax paid, they put this sticker/tab (Or your siah pa si- pronouns in Thai) in the pack tobacco that sells for 5 THB a packet.

[Ricardo]

Three more snippets of info -

There is still a Thai Tobacco-Growing Research Station on Route 1001, 300m north of the town-hall/Tessaban in Mae-Jo (north of Chiang Mai), who have a couple of old-style drying/smoking sheds in the grounds. I've seen a number of disused smoking-sheds, in the Mae-Jo & Mae-Rim areas, they used to hang the leaves on poles up-to the ceiling (15-foot-high sheds) with a fire down below. I've seen the odd field in the Sankampaeng district as well.

A lot of tobacco is still grown, although less than formerly, in the fields to the West of the main Chiang-Rai to Mae-Sai road, about 10km South of Mae-Sai. Sorry but I forget, what time of year, I saw from the bus the growing plants being cropped, they were picking the lower (mature) leaves first, to encourage the plants to keep growing up to their eventual-height of about 6 feet high.

The commercial tobacco-growing industry, in other countries, would also dry & chop-crossways the stem, these are the thin round pieces you'll see, if you ever examine closely the tobacco inside a factory-made cigarette. There also used to be a factory, I think it was in the south of France (?), where tobacco-dust would be re-made into tobacco-paper, then chopped & returned to the factories, to be added-back into the cut-rag feed at a very-low percentage. Every little bit helps, when you're in the business, of making money !