Transfer of Tobacco Functions as an Effort to Control the Health and
Prosperity of Tobacco Farmers
Prisma Andita Pebriaini
Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Mulyorejo, Surabaya, Indonesia
Keywords: Tobacco control, Health quality.
Abstract: Tobacco production that is still destined for cigarette production proves that tobacco control in Indonesia is
still not enforced. Every day, there are 1,172 deaths from tobacco-related diseases. The existence of the
tobacco industry is only ranked 48 out of 66 sectors that contribute to employment. This further proves that
the presence of tobacco as a raw material for cigarettes will continue to have a negative impact on society
and the environment. Therefore it is necessary to switch the functioning of tobacco into a more useful
material with minimal risk. The objective of the proposed program is to improve the welfare of tobacco
farmers and public health. Therefore the research method used is descriptive and qualitative through an
analysis of the literature. The author has come up with the idea of "Lahanku Penghidupanku" as a solution
to solve the problem. "Lahanku Penghidupanku" is a series of concepts to encourage healthy and prosperous
farmers by bringing together the diversity of the planted crops. Farmers can explore their expertise in
farming, not just in tobacco. This is supported by the acquisition of several farmers in Pamekasan who get
bigger results from tobacco crops (Rp6-9 million/Ha/ season), like: onion (Rp31,25 million/Ha/season),
tomatoes (Rp7,4million/Ha/season), watermelon (Rp11,5 million/Ha/season) and melon (Rp13,5
million/Ha/season). So, farmer's life can be guaranteed to be more successful if the processing of tobacco
products can be controlled. The level of the economy can thus increase, which leads to improved health
quality.
1 INTRODUCTION
Internationally, Indonesia is one of the ten largest
countries producing tobacco leaves. Out of these ten
countries, four countries produce nearly 2/3 (more
than 4 million tonnes) of the world’s tobacco leaf
supply totalling about 6.3 million tonnes. The four
countries also include China (38%), Brasilia
(10.3%), India (9.1%), and America (6.3%).
Indonesia contributes about 15,000 tons of tobacco
leaves or 2.3% of the world's supply
(FAO STAT
Agricultural Data Base, 2002).
Tobacco entrepreneurs in Indonesia are as much
as 98% among people's plantations and 2% of these
are large national estates
(Direktorat Produksi
Perkebunan Dirjen Bina Produksi Perkebunan
Deptan, 2002). According to the data, as much as
75% (173,695 ha) is people's tobacco (chopped).
43.6% (101,095 ha) that was planted in East Java
and 26.7% (61.925 ha) in Central Java; the rest was
in NTB, DIY, and Bali. A total of 30% of the
people's tobacco (chopped) is used as the raw
material for clove cigarettes. Of the various types of
people's tobacco, the most widely used is tobacco
Madura and Temanggung
(Direktorat Produksi
Perkebunan Dirjen Bina Produksi Perkebunan
Deptan, 2002).
Tobacco production which is still destined for
cigarette production proves that tobacco control in
Indonesia is still not enforced. At the 15th meeting
of the World Conference on Tobacco and Health
2012 in Singapore, Indonesia received satire as
being the only country in ASEAN that has not
ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control (FCTC). The incident is not without reason.
The Indonesian Government is very careful
considering that the FCTC has consequences for the
national economy such as the profits from the
tobacco industry, small and medium industries and
state finances.
Every day, there are 1,172 deaths due to tobacco-
associated diseases. Strong or weakness of tobacco
Pebriaini, P.
Transfer of Tobacco Functions as an Effort to Control the Health and Prosperity of Tobacco Farmers.
In Proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association (INAHEA 2017), pages 337-341
ISBN: 978-989-758-335-3
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
337

control policy will have an impact on the incidence
of lung cancer in the future (Stone, 2016). Therefore,
in order to respond to public health concerns and the
demands of some parts of society, the Indonesian
government limits itself to the focus of creating
good rules in the field of health related to smoking
habits or habits, without disturbing the tobacco
economy. This has been the basis for the smoking
ban on closed public spaces and the smoking ban for
minors.
Government also have the power to regulate the
industry and can use the article 6 guidelines of world
health Organization's FCTC. An effective tax
administration requires monitoring and analyzing the
industry behavior so that authorities can respond
quickly and effectively. This will enhance their tax
collection and improve public health by increasing
the effectiveness of tobacco excise taxes (Ross,
2017).
On the other hand, the existence of the tobacco
industry itself is only ranked 48 out of the 66 sectors
that contribute to the absorption of labour in
Indonesia. This further proves that the presence of
tobacco as a raw material for cigarettes will continue
to have a negative impact on society and the
environment. Therefore it is necessary to switch the
functioning of tobacco into a more useful material
with minimal risks involved. This is also so as to
improve the welfare of tobacco farmers and public
health.
2 METHODS
The method used in the study was a literature
review. The data obtained was presented
descriptively along with the scientific sources to
show the raw data that underlies the formation of
ideas. The results of the study can then be developed
and applied further. The objective of this research is
the Madura tobacco farmers viewed from the aspect
of culture and the economy of local residents. The
information collected is information relating to the
general picture of the Madurese tobacco farmers, the
efforts that have been developed, the current
problems, and the potential that is available to them.
The information has been obtained from scientific
journals, the internet, and books relevant to the
object of research. After collecting and analysing the
data, the idea of "Lahanku Penghidupanku" is
apparent as a solution to solve the problems in the
area. "Lahanku Penghidupanku" is a series of
concepts leading towards healthy and prosperous
farmers by bringing them together with the diversity
of planted crops. The methods used in this program
start from the preparation stage to the termination
stage, referring to the Dignan Theory. Therefore, it
must be ensured that ideas are in accordance with
the values that exist in society itself.
3 RESULTS
Madura Island is one of the areas whose population
cultivate tobacco plants. The total area of Madura’s
tobacco reached 51.5% in 2006 and 34.8% in 2010;
this is the total area of tobacco in East Java,
comparatively. Out of the four districts in Madura
Island, Pamekasan District has the largest tobacco
area compared to the other districts (Table 1).
Table 1: Land Area (Ha) and Tobacco Production in Madura and East Java 2006-2010
District
Year
2007 2008 2009 2010
Wide Production Wide Production Wide Production Wide Production
Sampang 5.261 3.119 3.620 2.056 1.775 932 2.297 1.429
Pamekasan
31.367 16.625 29.376 17.057 32.205 12.270 25.983 10.242
Sumenep
19.412 8.930 23.355 13.210 13.419 6.575 9.836 3.139
Jawa Timur
108.701 78.343 109.408 77.852 112.007 76.278 109.250
Source: BPS, 2011
INAHEA 2017 - 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association
338

Table 2: Shared Revenue Share of Madura Tobacco Products Year 2010-2012 (Rupiah)
Year
District
Sampang Pamekasan Sumenep
2010 6.437.724.381 18.939.623.381 13.634.522.381
2011 6.318.031.578 23.828.852.235 13.009.313.588
2012 8.302.956.321 26.552.667.916 18.027.736.926
Source: Peraturan menteri keuangan (PMK) No:66/PMK.07/2010, PMK No.96/PMK.07/2011, PMK No.46/PKM.07/2012
Tobacco farming accounts for approximately 60-
80% of the penance income in Madura
(Anonymus,
2007). For the government, tobacco commodities
contribute to the region's revenue through the return
of cigarette excise tax from the central government.
Therefore, tobacco is used as a prime commodity,
especially in the Pamekasan and Sumenep districts.
This can happen because Madura’s tobacco plays an
important role in the tobacco industry, due to its role
in giving aroma and flavour with distinctive
chemical characteristics such as moderate nicotine
content, high sugar content, and being aromatic
(Murdiyati, et al, 2009).
However, based on data from BPS (2016) on the
results of large plantation production based on the
type of plant, it was known that the tobacco
production of the last five years has decreased. It
proves that from the production obtained, the
income will decrease and will affect the welfare of
the citizens in fulfilling the needs. So, there needs to
be subsidy of alternative commodity farming to keep
the tobacco farmers business continuity.
Through the "Lahanku Penghidupanku" program
farmers form a strong community organisational
structure and create cadres delegated into work
groups to optimise the agricultural institutions.
"Lahanku Penghidupanku" was carried out within a
year; the process went through counselling all the
way through to termination, as well as requiring
outside support and cooperation. The vision that was
carried was ‘Prosperous Farmers with Improved
Health Quality’. The mission was 1) to mobilise the
economic and social productivity of citizens based
on empowerment and independence and 2) to create
a healthy work environment.
Steps that must be done so that the vision and
mission can be achieved that is by conducting
activities in sustainability. Starting from the
potential analysis of the local area; organizing
accompanied by partnership, sponsorship and CSR
processes to support the implementation of the
program; capacity building provided with modules
or guidelines for citizens in developing land-
processing designs with new crop types (other than
tobacco); the implementation of the program that has
been designed previously run with the assistance
until the citizens are really able to run the program
independently; and evaluation conducted at each
stage in order to support the maximum program run.
Here is a great concept that is done towards
"Lahanku Penghidupanku".
Figure 1: Toward a Prosperous Farmer with Improved
Health Quality
In the concept can be seen that each stage is
related to each other. If the first stage can be done
properly, the next stage can be done more easily.
Each stage also has one common goal that is the
welfare of tobacco farmers through improving the
quality of health.
4 DISCUSSIONS
Substituting tobacco is not an easy task. Rahmat
,
et
al (2009), identified several factors that constrain
tobacco substitution, namely a) technically, tobacco
plants have the advantage of cultivating on dry land
and in corresponding climates; b) economically,
tobacco commodities have relatively high farm
income levels and few other commodities match the
level of income despite the high degree of risk; and
c) socially in certain areas, the tobacco commodity is
a commodity that has become hereditary and has
become part of the culture to do the patterns of
agriculture.
Transfer of Tobacco Functions as an Effort to Control the Health and Prosperity of Tobacco Farmers
339

The recommended substitution commodities
should provide relatively similar benefits and they
should be at closer to the tobacco profits with the
application of technology and market guarantees.
The challenge is that the commodity alternatives
should be in line with Madura’s agro-ecology. In
2010, the Agribusiness Development Program was
been implemented with the Handling of Tobacco
Over Supply through subsidising alternative
commodity farming. The objective is to reduce
tobacco plant areas so that the anticipated
overproduction of tobacco in East Java can affect
tobacco price stability, providing an alternative for
tobacco farmers to grow non-tobacco commodities
with guaranteed prospects. The data on the
realisation of the Tobacco Over Supply Handling
activities through subsidies of alternative commodity
farming have been shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Realisation of Overcoming Tobacco Over Supply Handling Activities through Alternative Commodity
Farm Subsidy 2010
District Substitution Area (Ha)
Jembe
r
Kacan
g
tanah 20
Sumenep Benih jagung local
Benih bawan
g
merah
55
Total 75
Source: Plantation Office of East Java, 2011
According to Ellis (2000), most rural households
in general cannot avoid risks, whether they are
caused by humanity itself or due to environmental
factors. There have been studies that found an
occupational disease in tobacco harvesters, is a from
of acute nicotine intoxication by nicotine absorption
through the skin from the wet green tobacco plant
(Park, 2017). So there is an alternative to tobacco
replacement plants for tobacco farmers. According
to Fauziyah
(2010), there are several crops that have
been planted by some farmers in Pamekasan to
replace tobacco plants with the result of close to or
greater than tobacco crop profit (Rp 6-9
million/ha/season). There are: onions (Rp 31, 25
million/ha/season), tomatoes (Rp 7,4
million/ha/season), watermelons (Rp 11,5
millio/ha/season) and melons (Rp 13,5
million/ha/season).
From tobacco cultivation, it can be seen the cost
to be incurred as well as the income and profits
earned by the farmers in the planting season of 2011.
Farmers get a considerable profit of around
Rp40.611.000,00 in the planting season 2011.
Recognized by farmers, the price of tobacco in
planting season 2011 is the best price in the last 5
years. In addition to rising incomes, the consequence
of increasing tobacco prices this year is the increase
in the purchase price of production inputs, such as
fertilizer, both organic and non-organic, medicines,
baskets, and labor wages. So if calculated, the
benefits of the same relative and even tend to fall.
The condition of tobacco farming if the current
pattern will bring problems for farmers who depend
on tobacco, with the assumption that the pattern of
agribusiness remains as it is now where fixed
income Rp76.950.000,00. Starting in 2014 the
amount of farmers expenditure will be greater than
the profit received, the total cost of Rp40,357,907,00
with a profit of Rp36,592,093,00. This condition
continues until the year 2021 where at that time the
production cost will exceed the income received is
Rp80.436.958,00. So in the planting season 2021
tobacco farmers will lose Rp3.486.958,00 (Arfianto,
2012).
By replace planted crops, tobacco farmers will
be protected from diseases that can be caused by
tobacco plants such as Green Tobacco Sickness
(GTS). In addition, based on financial analysis,
tobacco farmers can minimize of disadvantage and
reduce environmental damage due to tobacco
cultivation.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The farmer's life can be guaranteed if the processing
of tobacco products can be controlled. Through the
"Lahanku Penghidupanku" program, farmers are
formed in to a strong community organisational
structure and create cadres delegated into
workgroups. The establishment of working groups is
based on tobacco substitute species; onion, tomato,
watermelon and melon. With a prosperous farmer
leading the way, the level of the economy can
increase which leads to improved health quality.
INAHEA 2017 - 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association
340

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