481-485The impacts of tobacco cultivation on
traditional agro-practices and knowledge, food security, agro-biodiversity and
socio-economic conditions of a remote hilly tribal community of Bangladesh were
investigated. Sixty per cent households were found practicing shifting
cultivation compared with 10 yrs back changing local food availability. Local
crop varieties were being lost due to low cultivation and weak seed
preservation system. Despite better benefits from traditional cultivation, 90%
people now fully depended upon tobacco cultivation for significant cash flow at
a time. Increasing dependency upon tobacco cultivation is apparently making
people economically vulnerable due to potential low sustainability