Enhancing Tobacco Farmers’ Capacity through the Development of Environmentally Friendly Biopesticides for Sustainable Farming

Abstract

Tobacco farmers in Brambang Village, Karangawen Subdistrict, face severe pest infestations and a strong dependence on chemical pesticides, which pose risks to both human health and the environment. This community service program provides a solution by utilizing low-quality tobacco leaves, which were previously unused, combined with lemongrass as raw materials for the development of eco-friendly biopesticides. Both tobacco and lemongrass contain active organic compounds with potential effectiveness in pest control. The program activities included field observations, laboratory testing, educational outreach, training, and demonstrations of biopesticide production. The results indicated that the optimal formulation, consisting of tobacco leaves, lemongrass, EM4, molasses, and distilled water, yielded a pH of 4.86, a nicotine content of 546.592 ppm, and the fastest caterpillar mortality time of 1 minute 11 seconds. The outreach and training significantly enhanced farmers’ knowledge and skills in independently producing biopesticides. This program successfully reduced farmers’ reliance on chemical pesticides, increased the added value and quality of tobacco, and promoted sustainable agriculture.