Foreign Control of Indonesia's Tobacco Industry Threatens Farmers' Livelihoods

According to a report by Okezone on January 11th, Indonesia's third vice-presidential candidate, Mahfud MD, has stated that the country's tobacco industry is still controlled by foreign companies, directly impacting the livelihood of local tobacco farmers.

Machfud believes that Indonesia's tobacco industry holds immense potential for development and can benefit tobacco farmers. However, the intervention of foreign tobacco companies poses a challenge for small-scale tobacco farmers.

In a speech in Madura, he stated that "in the past, tobacco was the main source of income for Madura farmers. The tobacco supply chain was controlled by big companies, and farmers' prices were manipulated." He pointed out that certain regulations categorize tobacco as a harmful substance, posing a threat to the tobacco industry, especially tobacco farmers.

He further added, "There are regulations which recognize tobacco as hazardous. As a result, tobacco farmers in Toraja, Madura, and Temanggung have experienced a significant decline in income. Despite being deemed harmful, the largest tobacco factory is managed by an American company, Philip Morris.

In order to empower tobacco farmers, Mahfoud has pledged to reevaluate the regulations surrounding the tobacco industry. He hopes to increase tobacco production and ensure that the majority of tobacco farmers benefit from it.

"I believe there is a need to reassess this policy in order to allow tobacco farmers to prosper without resorting to illegal tobacco production. The reason why people engage in illicit production is because they are pushed into difficult situations. We should establish regulations that are easy to enforce," he concluded.