Tobacco farmers earn extra income from hog raising

Ilocos tobacco farmers are on the way to receiving their first paychecks for an additional job created for them – as producers of hogs and other raw materials for a food processing plant.

Starting Jan. 11 the farmers will be turning in their supply of grown hogs to the PGMA-Multiline Food Processing Plant located in Mabilbila Sur, Santa, Ilocos Sur.

The initial deliveries will be done weekly until April 5 for a total of 231 pigs.

This was learned from Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) who said a new round of dispersal of piglets for the farmers to raise is scheduled for Jan. 12.

He said that NTA’s efforts in helping boost the income of tobacco farmers is in support of the initiatives of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap aiming to raise the earnings of farmers this year.

Yap’s initiatives were launched late last year and are poised to intensify this year.

The NTA began piglet dispersals last year from September to Dec. 28.

Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson had earlier turned over the management and operation of the PGMA-Multiline plant to NTA which was formalized through a memorandum of agreement signed by Singson, Encarnacion, then Agriculture chief Domingo Panganiban and farmer leader Carlos Cachola.

The tobacco farmers, under the agreement, are also tasked to produce chicken, corn, and vegetables for the plant.

Encarnacion said the PGMA-Multiline project is geared to boost President Arroyo’s job creation agenda as well as increase the income of farmers.

Yap, who is the government’s pointman for the Northern Luzon mega region, noted that the PGMA-Multiline project holds a great promise in the emerging northern agribusiness quadrangle.

NTA provides the inputs as well as technical and veterinary assistance to the farmers apart from piglets and broilers in the case of the hog and poultry production activities, and apart from seedlings in vegetable and corn production.

Dr. Robert Bonoan, NTA farm development manager, said broiler dispersal will commence shortly after farmers have completed the building of the poultry houses for chicken production.