Indonesian tobacco suffers from global warming

Article Type: News From: International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Volume 59, Issue 4

Tobacco farmers in East Java province have complained about the change in climate, saying they want to increase the productivity and quality of their harvest.

The Association of Indonesian Tobacco Farmers’ (APTI) East Java branch chairman Amin Subarkah said that the unpredictable change in weather over the last few years confused farmers.

“Global warming, he added, had shortened the cycle of the drought to between two and three years, making it difficult for farmers to predict the beginning of the dry and rainy season. This often led them to plant tobacco at the wrong time.

“Normally by the end of April to the end of May, farmers finish planting tobacco. Because of the unpredictable weather, however, even up to July farmers have not finished planting,” Amin said.

Climate change has also caused the emergence of new plant diseases and pests,adding to the farmers’ burden.

In terms of productivity, a hectare of plantation yielded an average of 1.2 tons of tobacco and only 900 kilograms in 2009, compared to 1.5 tons per hectare in 2008.