Tobacco brings hope for farmers<\/p>\n
Israr Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Temanggung, Central Java<\/p>\n
Tobacco farmer Gunawan sits leisurely in his house in Bulu
\ndistrict, at the foot of Mt. Sumbing, some 80 kilometers
\nnorthwest of Yogyakarta. He was looking in one direction, at his
\ntobacco field glowing under the bright sun.<\/p>\n
"I think I'll buy a Kijang van," the 34-year-old farmer said
\nconfidently.<\/p>\n
He has every reason to be optimistic. Bright sunny days ahead
\nof the harvesting month mean a ray of hope for tobacco farmers in
\nTemanggung.<\/p>\n
"The less rain, the better the tobacco quality will be. When
\nthere's no rain in July, it can be guaranteed there will be a lot
\nof srinthil (tobacco type)," Gunawan said.<\/p>\n
He was referring to a particular type of tobacco that contains
\na high concentration of nicotine and tar. The price of srinthil
\ntobacco is very high, fluctuating between Rp 50,000 and Rp
\n150,000 per kilogram. Ordinary tobacco prices are usually between
\nRp 10,000 to Rp 30,000 per kilogram.<\/p>\n
The harvesting season is the best time in the city.<\/p>\n
Nuswantoro, a resident of Prapak in Kranggan district recalls
\nthat come harvest time, Temanggung becomes tobacco city.<\/p>\n
At that time, he said, farmers from tobacco-rich districts
\nlike Bulu, Parakan and Ngadirejo would dry their tobacco in every
\ncorner of the city -- the town square, soccer fields, the
\nsidewalk or even rent open spaces in other districts.<\/p>\n
Nuswantoro, 31, who now works for a production house in
\nJakarta, was not exaggerating.<\/p>\n
Gunawan said that during harvest time, a successful farmer
\ncould produce up to two tons of tobacco.<\/p>\n
The tobacco industry can also make a person instantly rich,
\naccording to former chairman of Temanggung's students association
\nin Yogyakarta, Mohamad Kurniawan.<\/p>\n
"My junior high school friend from one of the tobacco
\ndistricts used to buy a new motorbike every year. But when the
\nbusiness failed due to bad weather or heavy rains, he resold the
\nbike," he said.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, he added, one could find refrigerators in villages
\nwhere there was no electricity. The refrigerators were then used
\nas wardrobes.<\/p>\n
"It is not uncommon during the planting season for farmers to
\nsell their motorbikes, cars, refrigerators, TV satellite dish or
\nanything else during planting seasons because they need cash to
\nbuy organic fertilizers, pesticides and tobacco seeds," said
\nMohamad, vice president of Yogyakarta's office of the Indonesian
\nMarketing Association.<\/p>\n
The farmers, however, are not only skilled in buying and
\nselling. They also hold festivities after the harvest. During the
\nfestivities, there would be shadow puppet shows and traditional
\ndances.<\/p>\n
The success story of the tobacco business, however, is not
\nreflected in other areas, such as education, health or the
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
Many children in Bulu, Parakan and Ngadirejo districts refuse
\nto go on to higher education after graduating from junior high
\nschool.<\/p>\n
"It's ironic. They are wealthy but don't want to go to
\ncollege, not even senior high school ...," Mohamad said.<\/p>\n
Gunawan admitted that being one of few university graduates in
\nhis village of Glapansari was hard. He said, there were fewer
\nthan 10 people out of some 3,000 residents in his village who had
\ngraduated from university.<\/p>\n
"As a graduate I have only two choices: to find a good job in
\nanother place or to go back to the village to improve the tobacco
\nbusiness. If I fail to get a better job, my neighbors would say
\nthat there was no point for me to go to school if I could make my
\nfortune from the tobacco business," he said.<\/p>\n
On another note, it is not unusual to find children aged seven
\nyears or eight years with cigarettes in their hands.<\/p>\n
"I won't forbid them to smoke. They are children of tobacco
\nbusinessmen. The children help us promote the business," said
\nDahri, another Glapansari resident.<\/p>\n
Mohamad said that tobacco farmers did not realize the business
\ncould not last forever.<\/p>\n
"The threat of erosion and landslides is everywhere. But they
\nrefuse to change their farming methods, such as using terrace
\nfarming. It's not easy for them to accept others' suggestions,
\neven coming from the regent."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tobacco-brings-hope-for-farmers-1447893297",
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