MANILA – The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) has utilized drone technology to improve the mapping of tobacco plantations across the country, enhance efficiency, and ensure accurate production volume assessments.
In a news release on Friday, NTA Administrator Belinda Sanchez highlighted the significance of embracing technology in validating the tobacco-growing areas managed by farmer partners.
“With the high-resolution aerial imaging and geospatial analysis captured by drones, the area of the tobacco plantations will accurately measure and become the basis for the computation of the volume of production,” she said.
Sanchez said the use of drones is part of the agency’s ongoing digitalization program, marking a significant milestone in its efforts to enhance regulatory programs.
The NTA has equipped its eight regional offices with DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise Drones, while its Farm Technology and Services Department (FTSD) was also given one unit.
Specialized training on drone operations, safety, maintenance, and data processing was also provided to ensure proper handling of the equipment.
For the cropping year 2023-2024, the NTA, through drone technology, was able to validate tobacco areas in Luzon, covering 22,073.09 hectares planted by 36,102 farmers with three tobacco types — Virginia, Burley, and Native.
The NTA has also started validating tobacco plantations in Mindanao using drone technology as well.
National Federation of Tobacco Farmers Association and Cooperatives (NAFTAC) president Bernard Vicente commended the NTA’s drone technology use as it provided a faster and more accurate validation of the areas planted with tobacco. (PNA)