Partnering with farmers to protect the environment in Spain’s tobacco-growing areas

In Spain’s Extremadura region, agriculture is a way of life—and a powerful economic engine. While known for its rich farmland and diverse crops, it is also the heart of the country’s tobacco production, accounting for around 98 percent of Spanish tobacco cultivation and generating thousands of jobs in the region. For more than 30 years, Philip Morris International (PMI) has partnered with local farmers here, building relationships rooted in trust, innovation, and shared responsibility for the land.

Today, that partnership goes far beyond the purchase of tobacco. PMI, together with local tobacco suppliers and farmers, is working to advance its environmental goals and objectives.

A region rich in agriculture

Extremadura is one of the most fertile agricultural areas in Europe. The region helps make Spain the second-largest producer of green tobacco and the fifth-largest manufacturer of tobacco products in Europe. And tobacco is just part of the story—this region also yields olives, tomatoes, and grapes for wine.

However, this productive agricultural region has its own set of challenges. In particular, climate change is impacting rainfall patterns, increasing stress on water resources, and affecting the delicate balance that sustains local crops and livelihoods. Recognizing these risks, PMI’s work with local suppliers and farmers centers on more than productivity. It’s about making farming more sustainable and resilient, helping to protect local biodiversity and secure the future of Extremadura’s rich agricultural heritage.

Since 2019, the company’s tobacco suppliers in Spain have implemented the company’s Local Water Risk Assessment (LWRA), a tool that combines scientific data with local knowledge to evaluate the quality and availability of water across growing areas. Based on this analysis, farmers have taken actions to reduce risks—for example, monitoring irrigation through field-based water meters that measure water use and adopting smart-irrigation practices. Encouragingly, the latest LWRA, performed by an independent third party, found that water availability in the Tietar sub-basin—where most tobacco is grown—is currently well managed, with low overall risk and minimal impact on upstream natural ecosystems, and about 70 percent natural land cover.

Image: Tobacco crop in Extramadura, Spain

Reducing emissions with biomass-fueled barns

Another major step forward has been converting traditional curing barns from fossil fuels to renewable biomass, reducing the carbon footprint of tobacco production. Thanks to this program, 90 percent of PMI-sourced tobacco in the region is now cured using renewable and traceable sources, leading to a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of cured tobacco from 2019–2024.

Spanish tobacco suppliers have also joined PMI’s monitoring program to track curing-fuel consumption and ensure the sustainability of the biomass used—reinforcing their commitment to our MVR sustainable curing fuel program, with specific attention to responsible forest management.

Preserving soil and protecting local biodiversity

Protecting crops while minimizing environmental harm is a delicate balance. That’s why Philip Morris International, along with local suppliers, has invested in training farmers onin Integrated Pest Management (IPM)— a method that limits chemical use and targets specific pests with precise, time-bound interventions. The aim is to build awareness of proper pest control to protect farmers’ health and the environment. Through ongoing support and monitoring, farmers are trained to use only registered crop protection agents (CPAs), wear appropriate safety gear, and follow proper storage and disposal practices.

Field technicians conduct annual checks to ensure compliance. In recent years, monitoring has found that all farmers in the region have correctly used, stored, and disposed of CPAs. Suppliers have also conducted field trials over the years to test organic CPAs, and these better alternatives continue to open new possibilities.

Building on these efforts, PMI has also introduced soil fertility mapping across supplier farms to reduce input use and maintain soil health. By creating plot-specific maps, farmers can fine-tune fertilization—fertilization, applying only what’s needed, where it’s needed. This approach not only aims to protect the land but also supports long-term productivity and farm resilience.

Image: Hedgerows around tobacco plots

Alongside efforts to preserve soil health, since 2018 PMI’s Spanish tobacco suppliers have led various biodiversity initiatives to enrich local ecosystems and increase farmer awareness. These actions include planting native hedgerows around tobacco plots, creating habitats for beneficial insects and birds, and installing refuges for bats to support natural pest control and installing beehives close to the tobacco fields to conduct the biomonitoring to evaluate the impact of tobacco cultivation on Apis mellifera colonies to determine whether the agricultural practices associated with this crop could trigger measurable changes in colony wellbeing. The assessment focused on key health indicators, including pathogen dynamics, mortality, pollen reserves, honey production and quality..

Monitoring has shown promising results on bees’ health an uptick in bat populations and greater entomofauna diversity, meaning a greater diversity of insects present in these areas. Colonies located near tobacco crops performed better overall than the control group, with larger populations, more brood, more stable pollen reserves, and higher honey production—indicating greater vigor and stability. Despite having lower than average levels of Nosema ceranae, the control colonies experienced higher mortality and more signs of stress, likely due to infection peaks or other environmental pressures. In contrast, experimental colonies showed higher infection rates but maintained better overall health and lower physiological stress, as evidenced by reduced oxidative stress markers.

Image: Hotel for insects and bees

This is evidence that simple actions can have measurable impacts. These efforts are now part of PMI’s broader awareness and training events that engage 100 percent of local farmers with the aim of preserving soil health and protecting local biodiversity. 

Lessons learned and next steps

From smarter irrigation, through field-based water meters and renewable curing barns to biodiversity activities, integrated pest management, and effective water and soil initiatives, PMI’s work in Extremadura demonstrates what’s possible when companies and farmers invest in sustainability together. These efforts help build the knowledge and skills that farmers need to thrive in a changing world.

Looking ahead, Spanish initiatives will continue to focus on applying high-technology solutions in collaboration with the people who know Extremadura best.