NTB To Renamed Kenaf And Tobacco Board

Source from:  Bernama 01/20/2010

The National Tobacco Board (NTB) will be re-named as the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board when the National Tobacco Board Act 1973 is amended to allow for wider roles for the agency. Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Hamzah Zainudin, said the change will among others allow tobacco growers to plant other crops based on fertigation. "Amendment to the act will tabled soon," he told reporters after officiating a pesticide campaign and the presentation of fertigation system certifications at the the NTB Training Centre here Tuesday. A proposal to amend the act had been forwarded since 2006 as part of government efforts to encourage tobacco growers to grow other crops to ensure higher returns, but till now it had not been implemented. Elaborating, Hamzah said the ministry also planned to relocate the NTB headquarters in Kota Baharu to Kuala Lumpur to provide more effective services to growers and former growers of tobacco in the country. On the fertigation project, Hamzah said the ministry had approved an allocation of RM5 million to help 1,500 farmers to delve in various crops, including chillies. Enditem