Indonesian growers suffer heavy losses

Heavy rain has destroyed tobacco seedlings in Indonesia and caused farmers at Jember, East Java, to incur heavy losses, according to a story in The Jakarta Post.

The head of the Kasturi Tobacco Farmers’ Association, Abdurahman, was quoted as saying that as many as 600 farmers cultivating 800 ha had had to replant two or three times at a cost of Rp5 million (US$505) per ha each time.

“The conflicting weather forecast from the central Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, and from a similar organization in Australia confused us,” he said.

Meanwhile, a farming co-ordinator at the regional Forestry and Plantation Agency, Dian Retnowahyuni, acknowledged that the agency had announced that the best time to plant would be in April and May. But she admitted, too, that the weather patterns had fluctuated so much that their predictions were badly off the mark.

“We always co-ordinate with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency and we also have our own formula to gauge the planting time,” she said. “However, the weather has been beyond prediction. We don’t have the power to beat mother nature.”