CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), has come up with a five-year roadmap to help improve the tobacco industry in Mindanao, especially in the northern region.
In a statement Friday, DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano said Mindanao local government units (LGUs) have the potential to facilitate the growth of native tobacco for export, which can contribute to the country’s revenues and sustain the livelihood of farmers.
"We have come up with this significant event to tackle the strategic and national initiatives anticipating the expansion of the production of native tobacco in the southern part of the country," Savellano, also the concurrent ex-officio chair of the NTA Governing Board, said.
Based on Philippine Statistics Authority's 2022 data, 15 of 37 tobacco-producing provinces are in Mindanao including Misamis Oriental, Maguindanao del Sur, North Cotabato, Agusan del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay.
The five-year roadmap is for the Sustainable Tobacco Enhancement Program (TSEP), where NTA envisions to rev up Mindanao’s tobacco industry by closely working with LGUs to strengthen and expand the existing tobacco areas.
Within five years, NTA seeks to implement projects such as irrigation and water management, provision of farm machinery, value-added processing, and marketing assistance, credit and financing, training, and capacity building for tobacco farmers. (PNA)
