Tobacco firms want to join goverment rice growing program

CANDON, Ilocos Sur – Several tobacco companies plan to participate in the government’s accelerated rice production program to resolve the shortage of rice in the market.

Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said that a total of 1,395 hectares of tobacco farms in seven Northern Luzon provinces have been tapped by tobacco firms for rice production.

The participating companies harnessed tobacco farmers for the accelerated rice production effort which is on top of the farmers’ own traditional rice-growing activities.

Encarnacion said the tobacco trading firms had earlier pledged support to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and offered their help to resolve the rice crisis. 

The firms would provide production assistance to the farmers for the procurement of fertilizer, insecticides, and other agricultural inputs.

Mighty Corp., one of the top tobacco leaf buyers in the country, recently allocated a substantial amount for the purchase of farm inputs for its subsidized farms in Pangasinan and La Union.

Universal Leaf Philippines Inc. (ULPI), a tobacco supplier of Philip Morris Phils., on the other hand, has completed listing up 1,000 hectares in Isabela, Cagayan, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan for the project.

These areas would be subsidized by ULPI and will be tilled by 2,000 farmers.

Trans Manila Inc. (TMI), also a Philip Morris supplier, came out with its list of 100 hectares in La Union and Pangasinan.

Fortune Tobacco Corp., the largest Virginia leaf buyer, has so far identified 215 hectares through its satellite trading companies in Ilocos Norte, La Union and Pangasinan for its part in the rice acceleration project.

NTA deputy administrator for Operations Dr. Robert Bonoan told newsmen that Fortune Tobacco, owned by Chinese-Filipino taipan Lucio Tan, is expected to tap more planting areas in the days ahead as its other satellite buyer firms have yet to turn in their listings.

He mentioned Namnama and Star trading centers as among those currently making arrangements with farmers and the branch offices of the NTA.

President Arroyo ordered the NFA to “flood” and release more rice to markets in areas affected by typhoon “Frank” to ensure stable supply and steady prices.

Presiding over a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council via videoconference past midnight yesterday, the President was informed by Agriculture Undersecretary Jesus Paras that the NFA administrator is in Iloilo to check the supply of rice in the province, which was ravaged by the typhoon.

Paras said the impact of the typhoon on prices was not too bad and a kilo of rice was selling at around P38.50, up from P35.

The President pointed out that anything above P35 was already too high so it was best to “flood” the affected provinces with subsidized NFA rice in order to bring down the prices.

“You remember when we had the meeting with the price council, they said that P25 to P35 of rice, depending on the quality, is tolerable. So above P35 is not tolerable. You have to do something about it,” the President said.

Paras assured the President that P18.25 and P25 per kilogram rice would be available to the typhoon-affected areas.  – With Marvin Sy