The potential of tobacco in supporting farmers in East Lombok Regency during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Tobacco is a leading commodity that has high economic value. The derivative products from tobacco commodities have contributed greatly to state revenues through excise taxes, employment, and sources of farmers’ income. This research aims to; 1) explain the characteristics of tobacco farming; 2) investigate the economic feasibility of tobacco farming; 3) analyze the determinants of tobacco farmers’ income. The research was conducted in Suralaga District, East Lombok Regency. The study was conducted from July 2021 to October 2021. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. Primary data was collected from 40 tobacco farmers and analyzed by with R/C ratio and multiple linear regression. The results of this study indicate that tobacco farming is declared economically feasible, This result is evidenced by the R/C ratio value is 1.67 > 1. Furthermore, the results of the regression estimation show that determine the income of tobacco farmers are the tobacco production, land area, seed cost, fertilizer cost, pesticide cost, labor costs, and farming experience.