Empowerment Strategy to Develop Tobacco Farmers in Probolinggo, East Java Indonesian

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze internal and external factors in tobacco farming, to determine empowerment strategies in improving the welfare of tobacco farmers in Probolinggo Regency. The analysis method used in this study is SWOT analysis. The results showed that the strategy of maximizing strength and opportunity is the main recommendation because it obtains the highest score. The empowerment carried out is human development, namely optimizing the role of farmer groups and optimizing land availability by increasing farmers' knowledge about tobacco farming. Efforts are to overcome the high cost of seeds with training to open nursery plots and process the harvest appropriately to increase the selling price of tobacco. Environment is carried out with a training program to make liquid organic fertilizer that is safe for the environment and to overcome the scarcity of subsidized chemical fertilizers. Institutional development is to optimize the role of farmer groups as farmer-owned institutions to establish communication with the government and other stakeholders.