Three tobacco-based-cooperatives and farmers associations in Isabela each receive four-wheel tractor from the National Tobacco Administration under its Tobacco Farm Mechanization Program (TFMT) on May 14.
The cooperatives through their representatives personally receive the tractors from NTA Isabela during the turn-over ceremony held at the Branch Office in Ilagan City. They were Zosimo G. Solito of Reina Mercedes Tobacco Farmers Association, Donie F. Bernardino of Quezon, Isabela Tobacco Growers Agriculture Cooperative, and Faustino U. Agudon of Sta. Isabel Sur Tobacco Farmers Credit Cooperative.
NTA Branch Manager Dr. Corazon R. Riazonda, for NTA Cagayan and Isabela, explained to the farmers the guidelines of the agency’s facility assistance program as part of the effort of the agency to speed up the farm activities of the local tobacco growers and to reduce their production costs.
TFMT is also a major component of the farm modernization program for the Block Farming in major tobacco growing provinces in the country under the Sustainable Tobacco Enhancement Program of the agency.
NTA Administrator/CEO Robert Victor G. Seares emphasized the importance of the farm modernization program in the government efforts to increase productivity and income of farmers. NTA Legal Counsel Atty. Jun Fred Parado relayed the message of the Administrator through online video message during a brief orientation before the turn-over ceremony.
According to Manager Riazonda, the recipients expressed their gratitude to the agency under the leadership of Administrator Seares and their commitment to utilize the facility assistance to improve their lives and to maintain good standing in their cooperative to avail of more projects from NTA.
Manager Riazonda spearheaded the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the farmers’ representative and the agency, witnessed by senior officials of the Isabela Branch Office.
[Source: NTA Isabela FB page / Photo credits: Joey A. Pascual and John Paul Bielgo]