Agriculture forms a major part of Nepal's Economy and is a source of employment for a large section of the country's population. Tobacco has the potential to improve the lot of agricultural wageworkers who traditionally emanate from some of the poorest households in the country.

Tobacco is amongst the world’s most widely cultivated cash crops, and it generates more revenues than other cash crops like sugarcane in Nepal. The farmers who practice tobacco farming in Nepal do so because the crop grows even in poor soils and in difficult agro-climatic conditions, besides fetching stable prices. Farmers can earn good yield from small plots of tobacco, enabling them to invest tobacco earnings into growing other staple crops.

SNPL's Leaf Development activities presently cover a large number of farmers. SNPL's support to Nepalese tobacco farmers, from seedlings in a nursery to modern farm practices, and constructing curing sheds to protect their harvested crop from inclement weather and to undertake curing under suitable conditions, has enabled them to successfully produce quality tobacco.