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By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
LAOAG CITY—The National
Tobacco Administration (NTA) is encouraging tobacco farmers in the Ilocos
Region to plant earlier than the usual cropping season to mitigate the effects
of dry spell that will affect Luzon beginning September.
So far, farmers in Ilocos
Norte are enjoying the rainy weather as they have more time in the field
tilling the land.
According to PAGASA, a
majority of climate models indicate that El Niño, a weather pattern that can
bring drought, may develop around the middle of the year.
During a dialogue last month
with tobacco farmers and the private sector, the NTA came up with some measures
to address the weather phenomenon in various stages.
Top of the list is early
planting of tobacco, according to NTA Administrator Edgardo Zaragoza.
Other measures include
delineation of areas to evaluate availability of water for irrigation and to
determine types of tobacco to be planted, and continuous consultation with
farmers in tobacco-growing provinces.
According to Mr. Zaragoza,
calendars detailing specific farm activity dates will be issued to farmers.
“If our farmers want to make
sure of a higher percentage of survival, and high-quality yield, they should
stick to the calendar,” he said.
The weather phenomenon has
caused the low quality yield of tobacco in the past. Last cropping season, the
tobacco buyers noted lower quality of Virginia tobacco compared to previous
year’s production as a result of the lack of rainfall during the growth period
of the crop.
For Virginia tobacco, farmers
are encouraged to start sowing seeds as early as first week of September in time
for transplanting by middle of October. For Burley, sowing of seeds should
start as early as third week of September.
Roberto Bonoan, NTA technical
coordinator for branch offices, said Virginia tobacco is expected to be
harvested two and half months after transplanting, or before the dry spell is
at its peak by early part of 2015.
“Most tobacco farmers are
also planting rice during the rainy season, but we encourage them to prepare
also for the tobacco season to avoid delays of sowing,” Mr. Bonoan said.
“Farmers should have set
aside a portion of their farm for the seedbedding of tobacco,” he added.
Also during the multi-sectoral
meeting, the agency urged the tobacco companies and farmer leaders to help the
NTA branch managers disseminate the information on the mitigating measures. It
also urged them to assist farmers with modern techniques of planting
appropriate to the current climate condition.
Mr. Zaragoza said that
consultations with the farmers shall include the evaluation of barn capacity,
requirements of tobacco buyers, early planting strategies and technology,
campaign against non-tobacco-related materials (NTRMs), and Good Agricultural
Practices (GAP) and values orientation.
“Hopefully with these
programs in place, farmers can still grow the crop and minimize the risk of
drought,” Mr. Zaragoza said.
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