Tobacco prices up

Tobacco farmers are having a very good year, with prices increasing by substantial amounts over those of last year.

Prices of Virginia tobacco increased by 27.45 percent for the premium grades, 17 percent for grades "ABC," 84 percent for assorted leaves, and 159 percent for grade "R," official records show.

As of Feb. l9, the buying prices per kilo were P65 for premium grade leaves or P14 more than the P51 floor price; P55-P56 for "ABC," up by P8; P50 for assorted leaves, up by P23; and P35 for "R," up by P21.50.

Carlitos Encarnacion, head of the National Tobacco Admi-nistration, said farmers are expected to earn huge profits owing to the high quality of their crop. NTA fieldmen had worked fulltime in assisting the farmers making sure they fully subscribed to the agency’s agricultural technology.

This developed as Carlos Cachola and Andy Reyes, president and vice president of the Philippine Association of Tobacco-Based Cooperatives (PATCO), expressed the hope that the government would continue its release of funds mandated by R.A. 4155 which they said would be used by the agriculture department and NTA for projects that will boost their income.

These are the tobacco dust production and PGMA-Multi-line projects. Ilocos Sur Gover-nor Luis "Chavit" Singson had turned over to NTA the opera-tion and management of the Multiline plant and tobacco farmers have been harnessed by NTA for hog fattening, poultry raising, and corn and vegetable production activities.

Production assistance was extended to them for these income-generating pursuits by DA and NTA.

The farmers are earning as much as P6,566 in net profit for their hog output, it was learned. The hogs are butchered and processed into several meat products including the famous Vigan longganisa and "bagnet."

NTA started recently the distribution of broilers to tobac-co farmers’ cooperatives with a target annual production of 40,000 chicken per cooperative.

Corn, on the other hand, has just been harvested for the PGMA-Multiline feedmill plant, it was learned.