Ending smoking worldwide will save lives. But a reduced global demand for tobacco could also bring devastating consequences to smallholder farmers across the globe, many of whom are economically dependent on tobacco farming for their livelihoods. We’re relying on our innovators to develop 21st century agricultural technology and business solutions to help these smallholder tobacco farmers transition to alternative, yet profitable livelihoods. Be part of a sustainable economic transition!

SUPPORT TOBACCO FARMERS AS WE REDUCE SMOKING ACROSS THE WORLD

While there are infinite positive impacts to reducing smoking around the world, many low-income countries depend on tobacco farming as a thriving industry. A reduced demand of tobacco could bring devastating consequences to smallholder tobacco farmers who are economically dependent on tobacco for their livelihood.  

We challenge you to develop 21st century (on and off farm) agricultural technology solutions to increase smallholder agriculture efficiency and productivity to either re-purpose tobacco farmlands for a different farm enterprise, or to utilize the tobacco plant and or its byproducts for a different purpose.  

Examples include: cosmetics made from tobacco products, organic bandages, organic fertilizer, alternative use of other seeds, crops (and livestock), natural pesticides, apps to educate farmers and build resilience, and ways to switch crop production from tobacco. 

Let’s work together to ensure these farmers have a path to success as tobacco demand decreases around the world.  

Learn more about FSFW’s recent progress! 

Top Prize: One team will be named the Pete Conrad Scholar in this category at the 2022 Conrad Innovation Summit. This team will receive a $1,500 per person grant from the Conrad Foundation. The grant must be used for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes relating to Re-Purposing Farmlands and Tobacco Crops, and students will report back to the Conrad Foundation as to how they utilized the grant. 

Get started…

• Amazing Use For Tobacco Besides Smoking It: Jet Fuel (Seriously)

• Shifting from tobacco growing to alternatives in Malawi? A qualitative analysis of policy and perspectives

• Study on analytical characteristics of Nicotiana tabacum L., cv. Solaris biomass for potential uses in nutrition and biomethane production

• Case Studies on Alternative Livelihoods to Tobacco

• Malawi: addicted to the leaf

• A tobacco-derived insect repellent – for crops

• Why getting farmers to switch from tobacco farms is a struggle

• Zimbabwe tobacco booming, but farmers growing it are not

• The true cost of a cigarette

• 8 ways Africa can raise farm productivity and boost growth

• How digital technology is changing farming in Africa

• Factsheet on alternative livelihoods to tobacco farming in Africa

• Tobacco in Africa: alternative livelihoods to tobacco farming

• Empowering the world’s most vulnerable communities through knowledge sharing

Check out FSFW Conrad Finalists from Past Challenges: 

• TobaccOats: TobaccOats is a company that extract the extraneous amount of protein present in tobacco leaves, and creates protein supplements that can be added to items such as oatmeal and granola bars. (2019-2020 Challenge; Colorado, USA) *Pete Conrad Scholar*

• The Golden Harvest Co.: NicoAid is a tobacco plant-based organic bandage that accelerates angiogenesis and wound healing. (2019-2020 Challenge; Philippines)

• Team Marilag: TaliCo is an eco-friendly hair accessory line made from tobacco fibers. (2019-2020 Challenge; Philippines)

• Planet Pipeline: The Lifeboat is a floating communal food garden that provides aid to disaster-stricken countries. (2019-2020 Challenge; Australia)

• Aqualirio Labs: Tabaci is a moisturizing gel that uses tobacco-derived squalene, which is a highly effective antioxidant that helps combat signs of aging. (2017-2018 Conrad Challenge; California, USA) *Pete Conrad Scholar*

• LRK Labs: Esprí is a cosmetic (makeup) that utilizes an innovative formula based on tobacco peptides to create a flawless, buildable full-coverage foundation for various skin tones. (2018-2019 Conrad Challenge; California, USA) *Pete Conrad Scholar*

• Malawi Hurt 2 Health: Organic bandages made from tobacco products. (2018-2019 Conrad Challenge; Colorado, USA)

• Taurus: Osiris is a sustainable and affordable windrower which, in tandem with the use of rapeseeds, aims to repurpose the land that was previously used for tobacco plantations. (2018-2019 Conrad Challenge; Australia)

• Team Neon: A farming application known as VirtualFarm designed to help farmers, but tobacco farmer in particular. It is an easy-to-use platform that guides and translates to farmers the processes for farm management. (2017-2018 Conrad Challenge; Nigeria)

• Tobacco-cide: A natural pesticide generated from the tobacco plant that effectively targets certain harmful pests without wounding helpful insects. (2018-2019 Conrad Challenge; North Carolina, USA)

• Trans-Bacco: Genetically modifies tobacco plants to accumulate an enzyme ‘angiotension converint enzyme (ACE) inhibitor’ in its leaves. ACE inhibitor, which is an expensive enzyme used in most heart disease drugs to lower blood pressure and dilate blood vessels, would provide a unique alternative to the growing number of expensive hear disease treatments, all while adding to the applicability of tobacco in research. (2017-2018 Conrad Challenge; North Carolina, USA)

• xFarmSmart: Hakuna TobacApp, means No More Tobacco App, educates and provides information to the farmers in Africa about how to be more prosperous by shifting to better yielding crops than tobacco. (2017-2018 Conrad Challenge; Canada)

• You Have A Friend in Me: Bamboozled is bamboo-reinforced concrete. This differs from the steel-reinforced concrete that is used in construction. Bamboo is cheaper than steel, and is thus a better option for third-world countries who have limited budgets. The team recommended growing bamboo on tobacco farms as an alternate crop. (2017-2018 Conrad Challenge; New York, USA)

Don't miss your chance to join this revolution! This special category gives you a seat at the table to help FSFW determine which alternatives are the most viable to addressing this challenge. In the future, FSFW plans to bring together private, development and public players to invest in pilot solutions.   

IMPORTANT ITEMS TO NOTE WITH THIS NEW CATEGORY:

• The Smoke-Free World category will follow all the traditional guidelines for all three rounds of the Conrad Challenge and will adhere to the same Challenge deadlines.

• Teams are subject to all competition fees.

• Smoke-Free World will be judged with the same criteria in all three rounds of the competition and a Pete Conrad Scholar will be selected within this category.

The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to reducing deaths and diseases caused by smoking.

Established in 2017, the Foundation funds research, promotes innovation, and supports collaborative initiatives to accelerate progress in reducing harm and deaths from smoking. FSFW also serves as a convener of global research supporting the reduction of tobacco use, while helping to address the impact of decreased smoking rates on agriculture and economies.

The Foundation’s work focuses on three core areas: (1) health, science, and technology, for smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction tools that complement progress achieved by Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) efforts; (2) agricultural transformation, for crop diversification and alternative livelihoods in tobacco-dependent countries, with an initial focus on Malawi; and, (3) tobacco industry transformation, for transformation of the global tobacco industry and nicotine ecosystem in a manner that is compatible with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework.