Tobacco growers get P6,000 aid

The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is preparing for the nationwide distribution of P100 million worth of crop production grants for qualified tobacco farmers for the cropping season that started last September.

The NTA, which is under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture, said 16,666 tobacco farmers will receive cash assistance of P6,000 each, which they shall receive on or before Dec. 15.

Of the identified beneficiaries, 9,055 are farmers listed under the NTA’s Tobacco Contract Growing System (TCGS) program, which supports production, technical and marketing assistance to tobacco producers.

READ: No selling of tobacco products below floor prices

The number of farmer-beneficiaries in Abra totaled 992; Batac in Ilocos Norte, 2,778; Cagayan, 700; and Candon in Ilocos Sur, 2,573 farmers.

Also included are 2,925 tobacco farmers in Isabela; 1,667 in La Union; 1,666 in Mindanao; 1,765 in Pangasinan and 1,600 in Vigan in Ilocos Sur.

“The recipients were identified by the NTA branch offices based on the guidelines set and approved by the NTA Governing Board,” the NTA said in a statement on Wednesday.

The NTA added that its branch offices will ensure that intended beneficiaries will meet the requirements and plant tobacco this coming planting season before distributing the financial grant.

In the Philippines, cropping season 2024-2025 started last September and will end in June next year. This is the period from the sowing of tobacco seeds to the trading of tobacco leaves.

The provision of production assistance is meant “to enhance the production of quality tobacco considering that the tobacco industry remains one of the strongest pillars of the country’s economy contributing one percent of the gross domestic product and 6 percent of the overall annual tax revenue collections,” said Agriculture Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano,