Abstract:
Aim: To assess environmental management practices carried out by both tobacco farmers and
companies.
Methodology: Purposive sampling was employed for data collection where by tobacco farmers
were randomly selected from the population. Sub-county Forest Officer and two field officers from
Kenya Forest Service were also interviewed.
Results: Use of improved barn is among the environmental management practices that can
reduce deforestation because of its high thermal efficiency. However, only 22% of the respondents
used improved barn while 78% used traditional barn which is non-energy saving barn, therefore
consuming tonnes of wood compared to improved barns. The study showed that 97.7% of the
respondents had not been advised by tobacco companies to use any other method to control pests
except chemical pesticides. Of the respondents, 97.1% believed tobacco companies did not
promote alternative source of energy for curing tobacco other than wood.
Conclusion: Although not much was being done, farmers had adopted a few practices to prevent
soil and forest degradation. Most of the soil management practices and alternative curing technologies were non-existent in the study area and tobacco companies were yet to introduce
them and this had greatly compromised the status of the environment. Use of chemical pesticides
was on a large scale in the study area. Some of the efforts by tobacco companies employed to
mitigate the environmental impacts were promoting reforestation and appropriate use of fertilizers
and pesticides. The very few existing environmental management practices carried out by few
tobacco farmers and tobacco companies were not adequate to mitigate the negative impacts
caused by tobacco farming.
