PGIN, NTA team up to boost tobacco farming

Laoag City—With an aim to increase tobacco growers’ productivity and income, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) with the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) spearheaded a multisectoral collaboration through a meeting-workshop on “Tobacco Contract Growing System” at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Session Hall on September 4, 2019.

With officials from the NTA national and provincial offices facilitating, participants included mayors, agriculture officers, representatives from buyer firms, and other stakeholders of the agriculture sector.

According to NTA’s data last year, the province’s farmers planted tobacco in more than 2,000 hectares of land and yielded 2.89 million kilograms.

“I would like to encourage everyone to push our farmers to plant more tobaccos. If they [farmers] move to [planting] tobacco, we can support them better through the RA7171,” Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc emphasized.

Among Ilocos Norte’s front liners in tobacco production are the towns of Pinili, Paoay, Batac, Banna, Marcos, Dingras, Sarrat, and Piddig.

“Kailangang ma-convince sila na in the long term sila po ang pinaka-beneficiary ng ating gagawin para sa mas maraming tobacco production,” he added.

The Ilocos Norte government and NTA also entered into a contact.

The contract defined the specific roles and obligations of participating units; determined the extent of assistance from local government units to tobacco farmers, streamlined the system of budgetary requirement; and finalized steps and strategies in improving recording of tobacco in Ilocos Norte.

Over the years, local government units have allocated production assistance to cover expenses of farm inputs, fertilizers, and insecticides.

Meanwhile, as part of NTA’s thrust in improving the economic and living condition of tobacco farmers, the agency helped farmers in addressing tobacco leaf requirements for domestic manufacturing and export.

“In order to solve the problems in the tobacco industry, every year we confer to discuss and come up with unified technology—the various fertilizers and insecticides appropriate for use to cultivate tobacco,” remarked NTA governing board member director Nestor C. Casela

“Last year, our LGUs had remarkable accomplishments. They followed our technology; they purchased whatever the requirements were. I believe, we will be able to solve issues on yield and quality with it,” he stated. (Edison Justin B. Deus)

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