Representatives from pilot local government units (LGUs) participating in the Kahuyang Pangkabuhayan at Pangkalikasan (KPP) Project of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) attended the first batch of a joint orientation seminar at the NTA branch office function hall in Candon City, Ilocos Sur on Thursday, January 8.
NTA Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Belinda S. Sanchez graced the opening of the seminar, emphasizing that the KPP Project is among the agency’s priority programs under the Renewable Energy Farm Project and the Restoration of Ecological Integrity in tobacco-growing areas.
She said the initiative aims to address the fuelwood requirements of farmers for flue-curing Virginia tobacco while supporting reforestation efforts in tobacco-producing regions.
“Beyond ecological restoration, the project will also provide an additional source of livelihood for tobacco farmers and their dependents,” she added.
The joint KPP program, initiated by Deputy Administrator for Operations Nestor C. Casela, is a partnership among the NTA, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and cooperating LGUs identified by the eight NTA branch offices nationwide.
The five-year program, which will run from 2026 to 2030, targets the reforestation of 80 hectares of alienable and disposable lands to be planted with ipil-ipil trees (75 percent), kakawate (20 percent), and bamboo species (5 percent).
The first batch of participants included representatives from the LGUs of Lagayan, Abra; Nagbukel and San Juan, Ilocos Sur; Vintar, Ilocos Norte; and Balaoan, La Union. The second batch will be composed of participants from Amulung, Cagayan; Balungao, Pangasinan; and the City of Ilagan, Isabela.
Resource speakers during the one-day seminar included Forester Leonard C. Cachero, Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) of Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, who discussed nursery establishment procedures; Fidel U. Acebedo, KPP consultant, who presented the legal requirements for alienable and disposable forest plantations and DENR forest plantations, as well as KPP operational activities; and Engr. Juanito M. Maloom, FTSD manager, who outlined the project’s budgetary requirements, labor, wages, and implementation activities. (Freddie G. Lazaro/DA- NTA)
