The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) has distributed the Gulayan at Manukan sa Barangay (GMB) project to 2,224 tobacco farmers nationwide for the calendar year 2024.
NTA Administrator and CEO Belinda S. Sanchez said the initiative aims to provide additional livelihood and augment the income of the tobacco farmers.
A total of P16.6 million fund was allotted by the NTA for the project equally divided among the eight branch offices with 278 farmer–recipients each. The beneficiaries must be in good standing and registered farmers under the Tobacco Contract Growing System (TCGS) program.
The GMB project is in line with the agenda of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., which is the “Food for All Projects” focusing on increasing the productivity of agriculture and fisheries and bringing down the cost of food through cooperatives, modernization, and value chain development.
The project is also one of the agency’s livelihood assistance programs, which enhances the productivity of tobacco farmers and helps ensure food availability, accessibility, and affordability.
The projects will enable the tobacco farmer-beneficiaries to produce their food, improving access to affordable, safe, and nutritious meals; providing alternative livelihoods as additional sources of income; and promoting sustainable agriculture by encouraging other farmers to adopt diversified farming practices.
In a meeting of the NTA governing board, Agriculture Undersecretary Deogracias Victor B. Savellano discussed the strengthening of the GMB project.
Usec. Savellano urged the agency’s technical experts to develop a proposal for the establishment of a multiplier farm for the hatching of free–range chicks for distribution to the GMB recipients.
“We also need to boost our technical and other support assistance to the GMB beneficiaries for the increase of the quality production on high-value commercial (HVC) vegetables for local consumption and exports,” said Savellano.
He recommended an increase in the production of mungo beans considering its high export potential.
The GMB is composed of “pinakbet” or leguminous vegetables and other varieties common within the locality. Seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection agents will be provided free for the recipients, while the other inputs like land and labor will be the equity of the farmer.
For the “manukan” project, broiler chicken will be distributed to the farmer cooperators.
The NTA branch office will procure and distribute all the inputs for the projects and will assist the recipients in the marketing of their products. ### (By Freddie G. Lazaro, DA-NTA)
Photo caption: NTA Cagayan Branch Manager Gilbert Taguiam (center) shows- off the packs of assorted vegetable seeds with the recipients of the day-old chicks during the distribution of the NTA’s Gulayan at Manukan sa Barangay (GMB) project on December 7,2024 at the NTA Tobacco Farmers’ Training Building in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan. (Photo by NTA Cagayan)
