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NTA celebrates 33rd Anniversary
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar and NTA Administrator Robert Victor G. Seares Jr. led the 33rd Anniversary celebration of the National Tobacco Administration held at the Central Office in Quezon City on July 24.
Secretary Dar, who is also the Chairman of the NTA Governing Board, challenged the management of the agency to elevate productivity to make Filipino farmers competitive with their counterparts in other tobacco-producing countries.
He underscored the formulation of the Sustainable Tobacco Enhancement Program, a five-year industry development plan, which is needed to enhance the development of the Philippine tobacco sector.
“We have to use all available resources to accelerate the modernization and industrialization of the tobacco industry, and see to it that the tobacco farmers will have more income,” the Secretary Dar said, stressing that the goal for "Masaganang Ani, at Mataas na Kita" applies to all agricultural commodities.
The event was highlighted by Administrator Seares Jr paying tribute to his father, the late NTA Administrator Robert Lizardo Seares, in a video presentation, which also featured his major accomplishments in the three years of his term cut short by his death on March 19.
In his message, Seares Jr also expressed his gratitude to the men and women of the agency who have supported his father in his service to the tobacco growers and other stakeholders. He urged the employees to be resilient to survive the challenges ahead in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We draw our strength from our unity as a family—the NTA family, and from there, let this resiliency and unity transcend to our Branch Offices, and eventually to our farmers,” he said.
The commemoration, which takes on the theme “Nagkakaisa tungo sa panibagong pag-asa,” embraced the new normal with a simple and short program, attended by members of the NTA Governing Board, other agency officials and staff wearing face masks and observing social distancing.
The Branch Offices also celebrated the 33rd anniversary of the agency through a synchronized tree planting activities in tobacco-growing areas in Region 1 and 2 and Abra.
[Photo credit: Roberto R. Bonoan]
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