A new food processing facility is set to be opened in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines, with an initial investment of PHP165m ($4m).
The operation and management of the food facility will be handled by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).
NTA administrator Edgar Zaragoza said that the facility will process vegetables and meat such as beef, pork, and chicken to cater to the demand in the domestic and the world markets, reports pia.gov.ph.
The raw materials will be sourced from the tobacco farmers with negotiable prices who will be involved in swine, poultry, and vegetable production in Ilocos Sur and other tobacco-producing provinces.
Besides establishing a ready market to the farmers' meat and vegetables produced, the facility will create job opportunities to the tobacco farmers, Zaragoza said.
To expand the program, Zaragoza is planning to establish a rice mill and feed mill in the site to cater to the rice and corn produced by the tobacco farmers.
