Tobacco stakeholders to tackle common farm tech

Top tobacco companies, cigarette manufacturers, and farmer-leaders will meet on Thursday to come up with a common farming technology to be adopted this tobacco-growing season to improve production.

Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said the "all-too important" meeting will be held at the NTA main office in Quezon City. The agency’s officials and agronomists will be on hand to assist the farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban earlier challenged the stakeholders of the tobacco industry to join together to further improve the quality of local tobacco.

Speaking before tobacco industry bigwigs, farmer-leaders, and NTA personnel during the agency’s l9th anniversary celebration last July 27, Panganiban said tobacco will play a big role in President Arroyo’s planned establishment of an agribusiness beltway in Northern Luzon.

"Tobacco is a prime commodity in the North in terms of agribusiness," he said.

Encarnacion said the meeting will be attended by Rodolfo Salanga, president of the Philippine Tobacco Institute; Winston Uy, president of the Philippine Aromatic Tobacco Dealers’ Association; representatives of Fortune Tobacco Corp., Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc., and other cigarette manufacturing companies; and officials of the Philippine Association of Tobacco-based Cooperatives.

The meeting is seen as a response to Panganiban’s challenge to find ways on how best to upgrade the quality of Philippine tobacco.