A survey conducted by the Muhammadiyah Tobacco Control Center (MTCC) revealed on Wednesday that farming tobacco in Indonesia is no longer a profitable business.

The MTCC surveyed 500 farmers in three main tobacco producing areas of the country '€“ Central Java, East Java and West Nusa Tenggara '€“ in June and July this year. The farmers consisted of 309 tobacco farmers and 191 former farmers.

Fauzi Ahmad Noor, a researcher with the MTCC, reported that the survey found that 36.9 percent of tobacco farmers were only following family tradition and just 16.8 percent considered tobacco farming profitable.

"Tobacco farming is not a profitable business according to Indonesian tobacco farmers," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"Weather, the monopoly of the tobacco [purchasing] industry and government smoking controls all contribute to the risk potential of [tobacco] farming."

Data from the MTCC revealed that the average monthly income of former tobacco farmers is threefold more than those still farming, at Rp 2.5 million per month compared to Rp 775,000.

The income is not a sufficient livelihood according to more than 35 percent of tobacco farmers surveyed.

"The tobacco farmers are looking for alternative source of income like planting other crops," Fauzi said.

Besides tobacco, most tobacco farmers also grow cabbage, chili, tomato, potato, corn, rice, soy beans and coffee.

Indonesia remains the only country in Asia which has not ratified the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

WHO estimates that smoking kills 235,000 Indonesians annually and that secondhand smoke takes another 25,000 lives. (rin)(+)

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