DA-NTA unveils a five-year roadmap for STEP during the first ever Mindanao Tobacco Industry Summit, held in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental.

 

EL SALVADOR CITY, MISAMIS ORIENTAL – To lay down a fresh perspective for Mindanao’s tobacco industry, the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) unveiled a five-year roadmap for the Sustainable Tobacco Enhancement Program (STEP) during the first Mindanao Tobacco Industry Summit, Thursday, January 25, in this city.

Tobacco industry key players, particularly tobacco farmers and local government executives from tobacco-producing provinces in Mindanao such as Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Zamboanga Sibugay, Maguindanao del Sur, North Cotabato and Agusan del Sur, attended the summit for a multilateral dialogue in mobilizing Mindanao’s Tobacco Industry Development Plan.

DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor B. Savellano said the summit is a significant event to tackle strategic national initiatives for the expansion of native tobacco production in the southern part of the country.

As a potential export commodity, he stressed the viability of native tobacco in contributing to the country’s revenue and foreign exchange earnings, support to the local economy and in sustaining tobacco farmers’ livelihood.

Under the STEP, NTA is set to rev up Mindanao’s tobacco industry by closely working with LGUs to strengthen and expand the existing tobacco areas, aiming for sustainability of the industry.

Within a five-year period, NTA will implement projects such as irrigation and water management, provision of farm machinery, value-added processing and marketing assistance, credit and financing, training and capacity building for tobacco farmers as part of Mindanao’s tobacco industry development plan.

Based on NTA’s data, Mindanao accounted for 7.5 million kilograms of tobacco produced in the country in 2023, which sold for an average price of P379 per kilogram.

The record also showed that the industry has been providing livelihood to at least 2.1 million Filipinos.

In 2022, the tobacco industry is among the main contributors to government revenue with P160 billion in excise tax collection.

In the same year, around P74 billion worth of fund derived from tobacco excise tax was earmarked for the government’s universal health care program.

Recognizing the challenges in the tobacco industry, DA Undersecretary for BARMM, Engr. Zamzamin L. Ampatuan urges for a forward-thinking strategy to sustain the industry.

He pushed for collaboration between government bodies and the business sector, while involving the farmers in the discussion.

NTA administrator Belinda S. Sanchez and other NTA key officials, DA-10 Regional Technical Director for Operations Carlota S. Madriaga and local chief executives of tobacco-producing towns and provinces also graced the said event.# (ATT)