Tobacco Board Forms Club To Boost Wages, Lower Cost For Growers

Source from:  PASIR PUTEH, (Bernama) 09/13/2004

The National Tobacco Board has formed the "1,500kg tobacco leaf per hectare achievement club" to increase income and lower production costs in order to face the competition from the global market. Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister, Datuk Anifah Aman, said the measure would encourage tobacco entrepreneurs to redouble efforts to increase productivity. "The club will become a catalyst to improve tobacco quality, lower production cost and obtain higher returns," he told reporters after launching the club at the Board's marketing centre here, Saturday. Anifah said growers who succeeded in producing 1,500kg of tobacco leaves per hectare would be given incentives like the Plantation Equipment Easy Loan Scheme. Since the scheme was created in 2002, many equipment like the mini-tiller, water pumps, power sprayer and other machinery, worth RM9.2 million, were approved and distributed to the target group. He said the government was committed to developing the tobacco industry so that it can continue to be grown in Malaysia as a socio-economy crop or an import-substitution crop capable of competing in the open market. "This is evident in the Eighth Malaysia Plan where the government approved an allocation of RM184.11 million specially for development of the tobacco growing industry by drawing up several strategies," he added. The strategies included an allocation of RM56 million under the tobacco development programme and the economic-stimulation allocation of RM9.2 million for drainage and irrigation as well as equipment. The Rural Development Ministry also allocated RM5.57 million under the Rural Projects Development Programme and the Equipment Easy Loan Scheme. In addition, there were also the special aid of RM22 million under the Natural Disaster Detection Programme 2001-2002, the Input Credit Scheme of RM55 million and the Tobacco Industry Restructuring Fund Allocation of M35.8 million approved by the National Tobacco Board. Enditem