The rescue was the third in Venancio Aires, which is one of Brazil's largest tobacco-producing areas, since 2019.
Conditions on the farm were poor, with workers paid less than a third of Brazil's minimum wage. They also lacked protective equipment, exposing them to high concentrations of nicotine from the tobacco leaves and suffering from acute poisoning symptoms such as nausea. The children also showed symptoms of acute poisoning.
CTA exports tobacco to over 50 countries and has contracts with approximately 12,000 farmers in southern Brazil.
The tobacco industry in the region, according to labor inspectors, works in a similar way: the company signs an agreement with farmers to provide credit, seeds and equipment in exchange for exclusive rights to the farm's production. The company can inspect the farm and dictate how the crops are developed.
With this level of control, companies should be responsible for working conditions on farms, according to the inspectors.
Brazil is one of the world's largest tobacco producers, with exports of $1,6 billion in 2020.
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