Tobacco brings hope for farmers

Tobacco brings hope for farmers

Israr Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Temanggung, Central Java

Tobacco farmer Gunawan sits leisurely in his house in Bulu
district, at the foot of Mt. Sumbing, some 80 kilometers
northwest of Yogyakarta. He was looking in one direction, at his
tobacco field glowing under the bright sun.

"I think I'll buy a Kijang van," the 34-year-old farmer said
confidently.

He has every reason to be optimistic. Bright sunny days ahead
of the harvesting month mean a ray of hope for tobacco farmers in
Temanggung.

"The less rain, the better the tobacco quality will be. When
there's no rain in July, it can be guaranteed there will be a lot
of srinthil (tobacco type)," Gunawan said.

He was referring to a particular type of tobacco that contains
a high concentration of nicotine and tar. The price of srinthil
tobacco is very high, fluctuating between Rp 50,000 and Rp
150,000 per kilogram. Ordinary tobacco prices are usually between
Rp 10,000 to Rp 30,000 per kilogram.

The harvesting season is the best time in the city.

Nuswantoro, a resident of Prapak in Kranggan district recalls
that come harvest time, Temanggung becomes tobacco city.

At that time, he said, farmers from tobacco-rich districts
like Bulu, Parakan and Ngadirejo would dry their tobacco in every
corner of the city -- the town square, soccer fields, the
sidewalk or even rent open spaces in other districts.

Nuswantoro, 31, who now works for a production house in
Jakarta, was not exaggerating.

Gunawan said that during harvest time, a successful farmer
could produce up to two tons of tobacco.

The tobacco industry can also make a person instantly rich,
according to former chairman of Temanggung's students association
in Yogyakarta, Mohamad Kurniawan.

"My junior high school friend from one of the tobacco
districts used to buy a new motorbike every year. But when the
business failed due to bad weather or heavy rains, he resold the
bike," he said.

Sometimes, he added, one could find refrigerators in villages
where there was no electricity. The refrigerators were then used
as wardrobes.

"It is not uncommon during the planting season for farmers to
sell their motorbikes, cars, refrigerators, TV satellite dish or
anything else during planting seasons because they need cash to
buy organic fertilizers, pesticides and tobacco seeds," said
Mohamad, vice president of Yogyakarta's office of the Indonesian
Marketing Association.

The farmers, however, are not only skilled in buying and
selling. They also hold festivities after the harvest. During the
festivities, there would be shadow puppet shows and traditional
dances.

The success story of the tobacco business, however, is not
reflected in other areas, such as education, health or the
environment.

Many children in Bulu, Parakan and Ngadirejo districts refuse
to go on to higher education after graduating from junior high
school.

"It's ironic. They are wealthy but don't want to go to
college, not even senior high school ...," Mohamad said.

Gunawan admitted that being one of few university graduates in
his village of Glapansari was hard. He said, there were fewer
than 10 people out of some 3,000 residents in his village who had
graduated from university.

"As a graduate I have only two choices: to find a good job in
another place or to go back to the village to improve the tobacco
business. If I fail to get a better job, my neighbors would say
that there was no point for me to go to school if I could make my
fortune from the tobacco business," he said.

On another note, it is not unusual to find children aged seven
years or eight years with cigarettes in their hands.

"I won't forbid them to smoke. They are children of tobacco
businessmen. The children help us promote the business," said
Dahri, another Glapansari resident.

Mohamad said that tobacco farmers did not realize the business
could not last forever.

"The threat of erosion and landslides is everywhere. But they
refuse to change their farming methods, such as using terrace
farming. It's not easy for them to accept others' suggestions,
even coming from the regent."