ISLAMABAD - After emerging as one of the highest performing cash crops in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab’s farmers are also leaning towards tobacco farming owing to its low risk and high reward nature.
According to sources, a number of shelters have been provided to growers by Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) and manufacturers, making tobacco farming an extremely safe form of agriculture. Currently, KPK produces nearly 80 per cent of Pakistan’s total tobacco crop worth more than Rs 10 billion, show the fresh statistics. The province has attained global recognition for its achievements in tobacco yield per hectare-the yield is 14 percent higher than the global average.   It is worth mentioning that, given the choice, most farmers who have grown tobacco in the past continue to do so. Unlike the vicious debt cycle existing in many agricultural commodity markets, tobacco farmers are assisted by a vibrant tobacco auction process. This dynamic purchasing mechanism routinely leads to tobacco being purchased at significantly higher prices than the MIP.
Additionally, tobacco farmers do not have prolonged payment procedures, as the tobacco industry has implemented various methods of tobacco purchase which expedite payments. Furthermore, the industry spends millions of rupees annually on mechanisms to provide innovative marketing facilities for the growers. 
Tobacco market experts are of the view that the sustainable success of tobacco farming will rely upon the continuing positive relationship between farmers, manufacturers, policy-makers, and academia.