CTC: Down memory lane

The Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) stood as a colossus in the Sri Lankan economy for many decades at a time when the private sector in Sri Lanka did not have much to boast about. Silently, CTC pushed on and today boasts a history of 85 years. As the company reached 80 years, it was felt its history should be put on record.

At a time when tobacco and cigarettes were becoming ‘dirty words’ in our country the company took the challenge of chronicling its contribution to the national economy, particularly in the field of agriculture. ‘Tobacco, Agriculture and the Land’ is the title of a well-designed publication which I had the privilege of receiving as a retired manager of CTC.

Discussing the objectives of the book, Jayampathy Bandaranayake, the Managing Director at the time the book was planned, said that throughout its history CTC has not had an ‘easy ride,’ facing threats to its survival.

The book reveals how the company managed to navigate its way through the many challenges that it has faced. The book is also an attempt to narrate the company’s achievement of its vision: “to be an inspiration for corporate excellence in the country.”

Dr. Sinharaja Delgoda-Tammita has done a lot of research to discuss the multi-faceted activities of CTC. It has never been a straightforward story because of the numerous diversification projects the company went into and the numerous challenges it faced at different times, particularly when regimes changed. It went through a difficult period when there was an anti-multinational campaign and survival was threatened. The book deals with all this exhaustively.

As for the early days of tobacco, not many of us would have known that the cultivation of tobacco in Sri Lanka had started with the Portuguese between 1600 and 1612. More surprising is the fact that then tobacco was produced solely for medical purposes – as a remedy specifically prescribed for the Portuguese soldiers to check the spread of beri beri.

Portuguese historian Joao Rubeiro is quoted as saying that the tobacco pipe was first regarded with marked distaste by the troops. As a result, smoking had been made compulsory with the Captain General himself setting an example by smoking a pipe load every day. CTC promoted tobacco growing and the book refers to the ‘dramatic impact’ it had upon the living conditions of the villagers in the hill country – how as a cash crop it brought an undreamt of prosperity to remote, impoverished areas. Thatched cottages of wattle and daub gradually gave way to houses of brick and rubble, with tiled roofs replacing the thatch. The shops increased their outlets and new shops began to appear. The clothes worn by the villagers changed. Cars and then lorries began to appear where there were bullock carts earlier.

Diversification

Apart from tobacco, CTC has a commendable history of getting involved with other agricultural pursuits. When the Dudley Senanayake Government (1965) set up the Special Leases Scheme giving undeveloped land to the private sector for 25 years for cultivation, CTC leased out 1,000 acres at Alutharama in the Mahiyangana valley bordering the Mahaveli river.  Drawing on their experience in tobacco where the company had provided all the support but the farmers owned the land and did the work themselves, CTC thought of doing the same with paddy. A colonisation scheme named ‘Navajeevana’ (new life), was set up.

The brain behind the concept was then Director, later Chairman/CEO Stanley Wanigasekera – the only Sri Lankan to head CTC in that capacity. The book describes in detail how land was cleared, a tank was built, cottages were built and 60 families were settled.

The scheme was planned as ‘an experiment in agriculture and community living.’ In November 1970, CTC transferred the lease of the cottages and the land to the farmers. “Today it is a calm, contented place,” says the author. When Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s government faced a shortage of sugar, CTC embarked on a project for the production of sugar. At Haldummulla, an abandoned rubber estate was chosen to grow sugarcane and process it into jaggery.

In 1979, CTC moved on to cultivate and market orchids in a bid to export cut flowers and foster a new agro-industry and bring in foreign exchange. Having set up a state-of-the-art lab, CTC later developed houseplants for export at Kalagedihena.

CTC was also the first private company to be invited by the Government to participate in the Mahaveli Development Scheme. It took over the management of the H9 tract of land in Dambulla. For a decade from 1979, the company worked entirely on its own and at its own cost, planned, ran and developed an area of 7,000 acres completely transforming it in the process.

The book describes how CTC introduced new techniques in conserving the soil with the advice of Ray Wijewardene, engineer, inventor and environmentalist. The 300 plus pages narrate the story of a pioneering company that was set up to manufacture cigarettes and then became heavily involved in the agricultural scenario over the past eight decades.

At 50 years

Glancing through the book, I was reminded of how a special issue of ‘Blend’ – the company house journal – was published when CTC completed fifty years in 1977. Chairman Wanigasekera felt it would be timely to have a commemorative issue so that there would be a record of the company’s progress. As manager in charge of corporate communications, it fell on my shoulders to handle it.

It was a tough task with the meagre facilities available at that time when we couldn’t even have colour photographs. In the absence of e-mails and faxes, we had to wait long periods to get overseas mail. That was to get messages from the previous chairmen who were living in England after retirement.

Everyone responded and with each Chairman tracing the progress during his tenure, we put together a comprehensive historical record. Using old advertisements (Elephant cigarette days), newspaper articles and photographs of the early days, it turned out to be quite an interesting publication. Senior hands wrote on their experiences and being a journal targeted mainly at the employees, the emphasis was on personnel.

The cover depicted the numerous activities CTC was involved with – from cigarette-making to diversification to helping sports and ‘shramadana’ work.