Impact of Virginia Tobacco Cultivation on Poverty Status: Evidence from District Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The study was conducted in 2015-2016 in Tehsil Tangi, Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The aim was to analyse the poverty status of the Virginia Tobacco growers in the study area with Poverty Gap Index (PGI) method. The primary data was collected through structured questionnaire from 159 farmers. Monthly farmers’ income was calculated from the total crop and non-crop income. The results revealed that the poverty ratio and Poverty Gap index were 8.3 percent and 0.016 percent for the Virginia tobacco growers and 42.52 percent and 0.076 percent for the non-tobacco growers, respectively. This shows that the Virginia Tobacco growers poverty status was better. Therefore, tobacco is recommended as cash crop in Charsadda District to reduce the poverty incidence.