Tobacco farmers who want to raise the productivity and quality of their tobacco harvest declared that only climate can help them. Association of Indonesian Tobacco Farmers’ (APTI) East Java section chairman Amin Subarkah said in Probolinggo that last week the unpredictable change in weather over the last few years confused farmers.

“Tobacco plants are delicate to climate change, especially rainfall,” Amin explained. Global warming, he added, had decreased the period of the thirst to between two and three years, making it hard for farmers to forecast the starting of the dry and rainy season. This frequently led them to plant tobacco at the incorrect time.

In general, by the end of April to the end of May, farmers finish planting tobacco. But last year because of the unpredictable weather, just up to July farmers have not finished planting yet.

Tobacco farmers in Jember have also experienced the same thing. Deputy Chairman of the Jember Commission for Tobacco Affairs (KUTJ), Abdul Kahar Muzakkir, declared that unpredictable weather had often caused bad harvest and poor-quality seedlings for the next planting season. For example in April farmers predicted the dry season, but then it rained later that month and about 50 percent of their tobacco plantations were damaged. As a result many farmers suffered financial loss.

Mr. Abdul also explained that climate modification had produced the appearance of new plant diseases and pests, adding more burdens. Moreover, Amin said that unpredictable temperatures decreased the quality of tobacco produced by farmers in the region. This year, for example, a hectare of plantation produced an average of 1.2 tons of tobacco and only 900 kilograms in October, compared to 1.5 tons per hectare in 2008.

APTI has over 2,000 member farmers through the province. They are extended over 20 regencies. However, only a few in many regions have maintained their tobacco productivity.

Among them are farmers in Sumenep and Pamekasan regencies on Madura Island, two of East Java’s biggest tobacco production centers. Other production centers are Jember, Probolinggo and Bondowoso regencies. But the whole tobacco plantation area in the province is 110,000 hectares. Researchers concluded that bad weather affects the quality of tobacco leaves, making them narrower, thicker and less smooth due to disease or pests.