Anti-tobacco lobby challenges Japanese agreement

ATN spoke through its interim Executive Director, Bontle Mbongwe, hours after Parliament was told that Botswana could benefit from tobacco commercialisation profits flowing from use of technology to improve the farming of cereal crops.

Mbongwe was responding to the Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry Keletso Rakhudu who told Parliament (on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture) on Wednesday that the agreement between government and Nara Institute of Science and Technology granted Japan Tobacco Incorporated (JTI) exclusive rights to commercialise farming technology on cereal crops.