Biofuel Hopes Could Relight Tobacco's Fire

Tobacco has seen better days, but current research may breathe new life into the age-old cash crop.

Scientists have learned how to genetically modify tobacco to increase the oil in the leafy plant by as much as 20-fold, according to a report published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal. Vyacheslav Andrianov, the report's co-author and a researcher at the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, calls tobacco an attractive alternative "energy plant" (with potential similar to algae and switchgrass) since it can produce large amounts of oil and sugar more efficiently than other crops and does not compete with food supplies, unlike corn and soybeans.

Globally, the tobacco industry has been getting burned in this age of increased awareness of smoking-related health problems (causing a fall in cigarette demand), high-figure lawsuits and tax hikes. But major players like Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO), the parent company of Philip Morris USA, which makes Marlboro, the world's top-selling brand, have managed to shrewdly manage shrinking markets such as the United States by increasing prices and make inroads into booming markets like Russia where consumption is rising and the tax climate is attractive.

Tobacco farmers have been less fortunate. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says tobacco production has fallen about 1.5% worldwide over the past 10 years.

The number of tobacco farms in the U.S. fell by 72% between 2002 and 2007, according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture. Large tobacco-growing states like North Carolina and Virginia have been particularly hard hit, seeing as many as 90% of farms in some areas either close down or be forced to turn to other crops to survive the downtrend.

Although commercial use of tobacco as a biofuel is conceivably five or more years away, farmers are hopeful about the prospects. "I got a lot of response from farmers that would like to grow tobacco in fields that are not being used right now," Andrianov told the Associated Press.

Only time will tell if tobacco's fortunes will rebound, but the possibilities are encouraging. If all goes as planned, the results could give smokeless tobacco a new meaning and ultimately leave any tobacco biofuel-related companies that emerge flaming hot.

Image courtesy of net efekt

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