Tobacco agency reduces fees, interest rates

Processing fees and interest payments of tobacco farmers were slashed by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) into half.

NTA administrator Edgardo Zaragoza who proposed the cuts said this is in recognition of the role of farmers in achieving food security and to boost their economic standing.

Under the Tobacco Contract Growing System, farmers can avail of processing fees and interest payments of production assistance.

After the NTA board’s approval of the cuts, the usual two percent one-time processing fee shall be reduced to one percent, and the monthly interest rate of one percent, normally with a term of five to six months, shall be reduced to 0.5 percent beginning cropping season 2011-2012.

“The reduction is in line with President Aquino’s commitment to transformational leadership, particularly in treating farmers and rural enterprises as vital to achieving food security and more equitable economic growth, worthy of reinvestment for sustained productivity,” the NTA board said in a statement.