Recently the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) launched an allocation of over 20 million in production assistance to tobacco growers nationwide.

NTA spokesman Edgardo Zaragoza declared that the distribution of production assistance that launched in July 1 will help 1,484 farmers La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, and Mindoro, who plan to plant rice in over 1,242 hectares of land planed before with tobacco. According to Zaragoza, a farmer cultivating one hectare of land will receive 18,000 in help form the NTA, which the agency will raise to 30,000 per hectare within the tobacco season.

Zaragoza declared during a meeting with farmer-beneficiaries and farm technicians that the agency plans to divide some 200 million more in loans, with lower percentage rates in order to help them plant rice as soon as possible.

Earlier, the number of loans increased by NTA to farmers in the eight tobacco growing regions was nearly 3.5 million. This figure was increased to 34 million at the beginning of this year, but the budget was just enough to finance tobacco growers’ needs, Zaragoza underlined. “We clearly understand that in order to be more efficient, prolific and relevant, tobacco growers should take part in all stages of production, training, and marketing. It doesn’t matter if NTA faces losses in the process of assisting the farmers, for as long as the farmers generate profits,” Zaragoza stated.

Dr. Roberto R. Bonoan, NTA deputy administrator for operations, stated this year’s production help to tobacco growers constitutes 177% higher in comparison to previous year, which was fixed at 7.6 million. As concerns farmer beneficiaries, this year’s figure is 79% higher than that of last year’s 828 farmers, and 80.73 % higher in ground area compared to 687 hectares in 2010, Bonoan stated.

He also added that the inbred rice component of the agency’s Integrated Farming and Other Income-Generating Activities Project assures an approximate crop of 5.2 metric tons of yield per hectare, with a forecasted volume of 6,458 metric tons this year.

Zaragoza also added that the country’s wholesale tobacco dealers, which consist of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation, Continental Leaf, Associated Anglo-American Inc., Universal Leaf Philippines and Trans Manila Inc., have promised to back tobacco growers by allocating them loans to support their contract-growing services during the dry season.

At the end of the meeting Zaragoza declared that tobacco growers receive special attention because they have a better reputation in repaying loans, at 90 to 95% in comparison to the national average in loan charges for agriculture-related yields, which was placed at only 13%.

By Sara Norton, Staff Writer. Copyright © 2011 Cigarette-Store.org. All rights reserved.