18 - Tobacco Farmers Supplying Needs of Ilocos Sur's Food Processing Plant

Source from:  news.balita.ph Thursday, January 18 2007  01/19/2007

Tobacco farmers are now earning extra income by supplying the needs of the National Tobacco Administration-owned PGMA Multiline Food Processing Plant here. The first batch of tobacco farmers who ventured into hog production and turned their pigs over to the food processing plant received their first cash payments on Thursday. Nestor Casela, deputy administrator of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) handed the individual checks to the farmers, who he said, earned net incomes ranging from P1,500 to P2,000 per hog. The first batch of swine raisers turned in a total of 28 hogs. All these are from Barangay Malammin in San Juan; and San Pablo in Narvacan. NTA is the new operator of the plant located in Mabilbila Sur, this town after this was turned over last year by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson. This was provided for in a memorandum of agreement signed by Singson with NTA Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion. Encarnacion said more batches of hogs are expected to be delivered by farmers weekly to Multiline till April 23 this year. He said that NTA has contracted tobacco farmers to supply the needs of PGMA-Multiline project in order to boost their income and in support of the initiative to make them earn more this year. The leaf farmers are also being harnessed for the production of chicken, vegetables, corn, mangoes, and bananas for the food processing plant's operations, Encarnacion said. One Evangeline Piol, wife of tobacco farmer Reynaldo Piol of Barangay Labnig, San Juan , Ilocos Sur, said she earned P6,200 from her hog production, saying the additional income is a bg boost to her family. She said that under a contract scheme, the NTA provided the piglets that he raised, as well as feeds, and veterinary assistance. Enditem