NTA sets tobacco summit on GAP
Preparations are in full swing for the 2007 Tobacco Summit conference on good agricultural practices or GAP that will bring together tobacco farmer- leaders from Northern Luzon, top executives of cigaret-manufacturing and leaf buying companies, officials of government agencies and tobacco production and regulation officers.
This was learned from the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), organizer of the conference.NTA Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion said that it will be held at the NTA auditorium in Batac, Ilocos Norte and is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 13.
The GAP summit, now on its second year after the initial activity last year, is intended to orient leaf farmers and tobacco production and regulation officers on the application of current technology and sound practices in the production of good quality tobacco.
The objective is to enhance the quality of the farmers’ tobacco produce which in turn would raise their income as a result of getting high prices for their leaf output.
The conference will cover a wide range of topics in tobacco production – from soil preparation to selection of seedlings, seedbed management, crop management, harvesting, curing; and vital concerns like integrated pest management and product integrity.
It was learned that tobacco farmers turned in a high quality crop last year subsequently raking high income for their labors.
Meanwhile, Dr. Robert Bonoan, NTA farm technology and services department manager, announced that Encarnacion recently approved and set into motion two research projects to further improve tobacco quality.
These involve the improvement of curing structures and the curing process of
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