Our Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) initiative, introduced in 2004, encourages growers to manage resources, improve efficiency and reduce negative impacts to land, water and air.
To make our products, we buy good quality tobacco from reliable sources at a fair price. In the United States, we purchase tobacco from thousands of independent farmers who contract with Philip Morris USA through the
Tobacco Leaders Program (TLP).
Our GAP initiative, introduced in 2004, encourages TLP growers to manage resources, improve efficiency and reduce negative impacts to land, water and air. We work directly with growers to promote the sustainability of the natural resources on which we depend.
Our GAP program is built on the following principles:
MANAGEMENT
- Nutrient management
- Variety integrity
- Integrated pest management
- Labor management
| STEWARDSHIP
| INTEGRITY
- Elements of quality
- Ripeness and maturity
- Stalk position grades
- Moisture levels
- Leaf integrity
- Prevent non-tobacco related materials
- Avoid crop protection agent residues
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We educate domestic growers on best practices and promote compliance by:
Providing tools. Each grower receives a
GAP handbook – with specific guidelines on our GAP standards – as well as a supplemental CD-ROM providing access to the latest resources on a variety of GAP topics.
Certification. Per our contracts, growers certify annually that they have implemented a formal GAP program.
Communication and engagement. We maintain direct and ongoing contact with contract growers through Grower Representatives for the company, localized grower councils, meetings and newsletters. Grower Representatives represent our business requirements and expectations and provide information on GAP practices.
University support. We contribute funding to land-grant universities in tobacco-growing regions to develop tobacco production guides, which the state extension agencies share with growers.
We also buy tobacco from other countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Turkey and Malawi through third-party suppliers. We engage with suppliers to promote the use of good agricultural practices with their contract growers such as:
- Employment practices and worker safety
- Resource and environmental management
- Green Tobacco Sickness prevention, for tobacco types known to contribute to Green Tobacco Sickness
Malawi is an example of a country where environmental and socioeconomic problems present great challenges that require a holistic approach. For several years, PM USA supported organizations like Washington State University to provide support for sustainability programs in Malawi. Today, Altria Group, on behalf of its tobacco companies, supports
Total LandCare and its programs in Malawi to address:
- sustainability of agriculture resources
- reduction in environmental degradation
- maintaining and enriching forestation through an expansive tree planting program
- training communities on agriculture and health management practices including irrigation systems and safe water supplies
- general education focused on improving the quality of life in the grower communities
