Changing the face of tobacco curing Unconventional approaches are reaping rewards Alternative fuels and more efficient curing barn designs are helping deliver real benefits to growers and the environment. Curing tobacco leaf has traditionally involved the consumption of large quantities of wood fuel. That’s why, since the 1970s, our companies have sponsored and promoted the planting of over 400 million trees. However, in recent years, we have also introduced alternative methods and fuels in several countries. Curing is the process used to achieve the texture, colour and overall quality of a specific tobacco type. It usually involves a heat source that converts leaf starch into sugar, while the tobacco changes colour from green to brown, closer to the colour and texture you will find in a typical cigarette. While some tobacco is normally air-cured or sun-cured, specifically Burley and Oriental tobacco, most commonly the heat is introduced into a curing barn through pipes from an exterior furnace. This is known as flue-curing and is the method used for curing most Virginia tobacco. And of course, the most readily available fuel for farmers to burn in these furnaces is often wood. Waste not, want not However, in a number of the tobacco leaf growing programmes we support, tobacco is now cured with alternative fuels. These fuels include gas, coal and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), but we have also had great successes with the use of natural waste products, such as rice paddy husks, sawdust and candlenut shells. Our company in Sri Lanka, the Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC), pioneered the use of rice husks as fuel as long ago as the 1990s. And since 1997, all farmers supplying leaf to CTC have only burned rice husks, not wood, when curing tobacco. Another benefit of burning rice husks is that the ash formed is rich in potash and phosphorous. This can then be used on the soil to reduce acidity and improve fertility. Rice husks are ‘covers’ surrounding the white grains of rice. They are removed by milling and are often a waste material. But farmers in Sri Lanka collect the husks during the milling season to use for burning during tobacco curing. Rice husks can also be used to dry other crops such as chillies, pepper, cloves or cocoa. And as well as reducing wood use, another benefit of burning rice husks is that the ash formed is rich in potash and phosphorous. This can then be used on the soil to reduce acidity and improve fertility. Our companies have also rolled out CTC’s method to farmers in Vietnam and Bangladesh, as this is a fully sustainable and cost-effective solution wherever rice husks are readily available. In Gialai province in central Vietnam, all the farmers involved in a project we funded in 2004 now use rice husks instead of wood for curing, in a total of 500 curing barns. And in Bangladesh, only 30% of the tobacco produced is cured using wood today, with 70% cured by rice husk, straw and other non-wood alternatives, such as agricultural waste and wild weed shrubs. How tobacco curing became ‘rocket’ science We are also exploring more efficient forms of curing barns. Named ‘rocket barns’ because of their distinctive chimney, these barns use a double chimney system to draw air through the inner barn. This results in a faster curing process that uses much less wood fuel than conventional barns. Rocket barns use a double chimney system to draw air through the inner barn. This results in a faster curing process that uses much less wood fuel than conventional barns. Rocket barns are suitable for small-scale farmers as they are affordable, easy to build and ideal for small- to medium-scale production. They were designed by Peter Scott and the Burn Design Lab and have been used in countries such as Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda. Our company in Zimbabwe collaborated with Northern Tobacco and the Tobacco Research Board on a pilot to assess the performance of the rocket barn design in 2011. Results showed a saving of up to 50% wood fuel. BAT Zimbabwe is now encouraging all of its contracted farmers to switch to rocket barns by 2015. The future of curing Other projects are currently underway around the world, testing new techniques and heat sources. We hope these will provide new and innovative curing methods that can deliver further benefits to farmers, our business and the environment for years to come. 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