Tobacco farmers to get aP100 million production grant

MANILA, Philippines —  The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is set to distribute P100 million worth of cash assistance to nearly 17,000 tobacco farmers this month, a move aimed at enhancing the production of the commodity.

The NTA said 16,666 qualified farmers would receive a production grant of P6,000 each on or before Dec. 15 for cropping year 2024-2025.

Agriculture Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano, who serves as an oversight official of the NTA, said the cash assistance is expected to improve the production of quality tobacco in the Philippines.

“The tobacco industry remains one of the strongest pillars of the country’s economy, contributing one percent of the gross domestic product and six percent of the overall annual tax revenue collections,” Savellano said.

The NTA branch offices identified this year’s recipients based on the guidelines set and approved by the NTA Governing Board.

Of the total beneficiaries, 9,055 are farmers listed under the NTA’s Tobacco Contract Growing System program, while 7,611 are non-TCGS farmers.

TCGS farmer-recipients should have planted tobacco in one hectare of farmland and below for cropping years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, while those not listed under the TCGS program must have grown tobacco in a half-hectare farmland and below.

The cropping season for the tobacco industry starts in September of the current year and ends in June the following year.

To qualify for the cash assistance, beneficiaries should also be NTA-registered tobacco farmers personally tilling a tobacco farm, capable of providing adequate labor to attend to all activities in quality tobacco production.

Prior to the grant’s nationwide distribution, the NTA branch offices should ensure that recipients meet all the requirements and surely plant tobacco this coming planting season.

Started in the cropping year 2023-2024, this initiative funded through the General Appropriations Act also aims to augment the production support to farmers to help them increase their profits.