Threatening 5,000 Tobacco Farmers, APTI Bondowoso Rejects Standardised Cigarette Packaging Plan

The government’s plan to implement standardised cigarette packaging regulations for the tobacco industry continues to face opposition. The policy, outlined in the Draft Minister of Health Regulation (RPMK), is seen as a frightening spectre for tobacco farmers, particularly in the Bondowoso region of East Java. Farmers are anxious that overly strict regulations will directly impact factories’ absorption of their harvests. The tobacco commodity has long been the economic lifeblood of the local community. Chairman of the Bondowoso Branch Executive Board of the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association (DPC APTI), M. Yasid, stated that instead of being given stifling rules, farmers currently need capacity building and protection from the state more than ever. “The livelihoods of our farmers are threatened by the discourse on standardised packaging through the Draft Minister of Health Regulation. This forced draft regulation must not slowly kill our farmers’ livelihoods and cripple the people’s tobacco industry. Tobacco is the mainstay of more than 5,000 farmers in Bondowoso. Please, let our aspirations be heard,” Yasid asserted. The pessimism enveloping farmers has led the Bondowoso DPC APTI to firmly reject all draft regulations that could potentially harm their main commodity. Yasid urged the central government to intervene and see the conditions on the ground firsthand. “The government must listen to the voices of the grassroots so that this policy can be evaluated. We must protect tobacco, and this is also to save the farmers’ fields,” he continued. This anxiety is well-founded. Entering the planting season in early May, thousands of Bondowoso farmers have sown seeds of superior local varieties with hopes for a maximum harvest. Currently, a total of 8,424.40 hectares of land are planted with chopped tobacco (Maesan I and II varieties) and Kasturi tobacco, spread across various sub-districts from Tenggarang and Curahdami to Wringin. The fate of approximately 5,000 people depends on this harvest. “We urge that this standardised packaging regulation not be ratified in order to save the economic backbone of Bondowoso,” Yasid stated.