Marketing Process of Agricultural Tobacco Products Effects on
Tobacco Farmer Economy
Febrina Dewi Safitri
Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Mulyorejo, Surabaya, Indonesia
Keywords: Tobacco, Marketing, Availability, Needs, Problems.
Abstract: Indonesia has fertile soil which can be overgrown many variety of plants for staple food and other
commodities such as tobacco to meet the needs of the population. This study aims to describe the process of
buying and selling of tobacco products in Indonesia, the farmer’s efforts in overcoming problems in the
marketing process of tobacco farming in an area. This research is a descriptive research. Collecting data are
from literature study, journal, and statistic secondary data. The results showed that the marketing process of
tobacco farming has not directly to farmer, so there will be a fluctuation price which can inflict a financial
lost the farmer. Qualitative and quantitative of tobacco products is influenced by season, modals, pests and
diseases, asymmetric knowledge.
1 INTRODUCTION
Indonesia is an agrarian country; not only is rice
grown as a staple food, but also other commodities
such as tobacco are grown to meet the needs of the
population. It is known from the Ministry of
Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia that the
land area of tobacco plantations in 2015 reached
209,095 Ha, with productivity going up and down
each year.
Tobacco plants belong to the Plantae Division,
Class Dicotyledonaea, Order Personatae, Family
Solanaceae, Sub Famili Nicotianae, Genus
Nicotianae, Species Nicotiana tabacum L. According
to Imam, the problem of tobacco plantation results is
currently not realising the need for a healthy
competent climate and the quality and amount of
tobacco that is not as much as is needed.
Tobacco in Indonesia has ups and downs in
relation to supply availability from year to year. The
problems that arise cause many tobacco farmers to
feel the profit-loss of living on the tobacco
plantation. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse the
problem of the fluctuation in the tobacco plantation
results.
The environment of tobacco farming for
example heat, nicotine exposure, and biological
factors can cause health illness, example Green
Tobacco Sickness (GTS), heat illness, etc.
2 METHODS
The method used is the descriptive research method
using secondary data analysis. The secondary data
was obtained through a literature study, i.e. journals,
regulations and reports of the secondary statistics
data.
3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
3.1 The marketing process of tobacco
products.
Tobacco farmers sell their crops to middlemen,
factories and companies. The presence of companies
in a tobacco producing area is very helpful to
facilitate the sale of tobacco products from the
farmers to go on to be processed and processed into
finished goods. Many multi-national tobacco
companies in Indonesia obtain tobacco through
direct contracts with farmers in the open market.
According to Fuad, in the marketing of tobacco
products in Madura, there is a coordinated
relationship between the factory warehouse and the
local government, but the local government cannot
provide policy instructions to the factory warehouse.
The factory has a contractual relationship with the
132
Safitri, F.
Marketing Process of Agricultural Tobacco Products Effects on Tobacco Farmer Economy.
In Proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association (INAHEA 2017), pages 132-134
ISBN: 978-989-758-335-3
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

skipper as a tobacco supplier. Skippers have an arm
who supply the tobacco called middleman. Farmers
sell the tobacco freely to the wholesalers who offer
the highest prices.
The process of determining the selling price of
tobacco to the factory is based on the estimated cost
of production by the farmers. There are also farmers
who do not cooperate with the factory who do not
take part in determining the sale price of tobacco,
therefore many of these farmers lose out because
they cannot bargain if the factory-determined price
is less profitable for the farmers. The asymmetric
knowledge also leads to a loss of selling price for the
farmers. The majority of farmers do not have
warehouses for their tobacco products, so the
farmers always sell their tobacco quickly despite the
low prices (Oryza A, 2015).
3.2 Fluctuation of production,
productivity and the areas of tobacco
plantation from 2014-2016
Productivity, production amount, and the plantation
areas each year has changed. Many factors can affect
the quality and quantity of the tobacco plantation’s
products.
Table 1: Area of Tabacco Plantation from 2014-2016
Year
Area of Tobacco Farm (Ha)
2014
215.865
2015
209.095
2016
206.337
Note: 2016 data is still temporary.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, 2013-2017.
Table 2: Production of Tabacco Plantation from 2014-
2016
Tahun
Tobacco Product (ton)
2014
198.301
2015
193.790
2016
196.154
Note: 2016 data is still temporary.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, 2013-2017
Table 3: Productivity of Tabacco Plantation from 2014-
2016
Year
Tobacco Production Productivity (Kg/Ha)
2014
947
2015
946
2016
989
Note: 2016 data is still temporary.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture. Area of Tobacco Plant by
Province in Indonesia, 2013-2017
3.3 Problems with the marketing process
of tobacco plantation products
3.3.1 Uncertain climate change
Tobacco plants are plants that can only be produced
in certain areas. Tobacco plants can grow in areas
that have a rainfall of approximately 2000mm/year.
The appropriate air temperature is 21o-32oC with a
pH between 5-6. The characteristics of the land
favoured by tobacco plants is soil that is loose, easy
to bind with water and with good air circulation so
as to improve drainage. The best altitude is between
200-3000 masl.
The existence of climate change from the rainy
season to the dry season or vice versa is not very
influential for the quality and quantity of tobacco
plantation products, especially in the rainy season.
According to Abdus’s research, until now, tobacco
farming still relied on chemical pesticides as a way
of controlling pests and diseases. The inappropriate
use of chemical pesticides can cause harmful
residual effects, in addition to being an expensive
cost.
3.3.2 Tobacco plantation’s modal
Efforts to meet the required financial capital, the
farmers cover it by taking loans from banks,
cooperatives, friends, and relatives. Most banks
refuse to lend to agricultural businesses because of
their uncertain nature (Oryza A, 2015).
3.3.3 Pests and diseases
Pests and diseases are one of the causes of the
decline in the quantity and quality of tobacco
plantation products. Biological disorders that attack
tobacco plants can spread to other crops in a
plantation area until the tobacco dies and reduces the
farmer’s harvest.
Types of pests that attack tobacco plants are
londrak (Thrips parvispinus), grayak worm
(Spodoptera litura F.), caterpillar tobacco
(Helicoverpa armigera), peach aphid (Myzus
persicae), caterpillar (Agrotis ipsilon), borer shoot
(Heliothis sp ), nematode (Meloydogyne sp), and
aphids (Aphis sp, Thrips sp, Bemisia sp). The types
of diseases in tobacco plants are charred stems
(Damping off), lanas, patik leaves, brown spots, leaf
rot, and some viruses, such as the Tobacco Virus
Mozaic (TVM), Pseudomozaik, and Marble.
Marketing Process of Agricultural Tobacco Products Effects on Tobacco Farmer Economy
133

3.3.4 Farmer’s knowledge
The ability of farmers in managing tobacco is
considered to not be optimal. For example, in the
technical provision of chemical pesticides that are
not appropriate, poor procedures can cause the
targeted pests to become immune. Farmers are still
not wise in relation to managing pests and diseases
because of their ignorance about how to eradicate
pests and diseases. This is due to a lack of
knowledge and training.
Moreover, if there is child labour, it is a family
tradition to help the household economy as a
tobacco farmer, even if they have not received any
education or training related to pests, diseases, and
the dangers of nicotine and chemical pesticides.
Such ignorance will have an impact on the health
and safety of farmers.
4 CONCLUSION
The results showed that the marketing process of
the tobacco plantation products that still pass
through the middlemen to reach the factory is the
cause of the ups and downs of tobacco selling
prices. Nicotine exposure from tobacco leaves can
cause nicotine poisoning or Green Tobacco
Sickness (GTS).
The existence of an uncertain climate, pests and
diseases, large financial capital, and the low
knowledge of farmers are the factors involved in
the price fluctuations, the amount of tobacco
production that causes the farmers' income to be
ascertained routinely or certainly every harvest
season, also occupational health hazards.
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