Drones now used in tobacco plantations mapping

BAGUIO CITY (December 12, 2024) -- State regulator for the tobacco industry -- National Tobacco Administration (NTA) – said it has adopted the drone technology to map tobacco plantations around the country, marking a significant milestone in its efforts to enhance the agency’s functions.

According to NTA Administrator and CEO, Belinda S. Sanchez, they have embraced drone technology as part of their ongoing digitalization program to validate the actual areas planted with tobacco by their farmer–partners.

Each of the eight branch offices of NTA has been provided with one unit of DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise Drone and another drone unit was given to the Farm Technology and Services Department (FTSD), Sanchez detailed.

Director Freddie Lazaro, NTA information officer said, the drone supplier, through the FTSD, had conducted a series of training sessions on basic operations, safety, and maintenance of the equipment, including data processing.  Three staff members from each branch office completed the training in December 2023 and March 2024, he added.

NTA oversight official, Agriculture Undersecretary Deogracias Victor B. Savellano cited that the initiative is in line with the agriculture modernization and digitalization agenda of Agriculture department chief Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr.

NTA Deputy Administrator for Operations (DAOP) Nestor C. Casela and Deputy Administrator for Support Services (DASS) Benedicto M. Savellano both said, “the drone technology demonstrated innovation and efficiency, enhanced the NTA’s regulatory capabilities, and ensured fairness in the area validation of the actual tobacco plantations”.

According to Dir. Lazaro, “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.”

Farmer leader Bernard R. Vicente, the re-elected president of the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers Association and Cooperatives (NAFTAC), hailed the NTA’s utilization of drone technology saying, “it is a faster and more accurate validation of the area planted with tobacco”.

For Cropping Year 2023 – 2024, NTA FTSD Manager Juanito Maloom said, 100% of the areas planted with all types of tobacco in Luzon were validated through drone technology.  Among the types of tobacco planted were Virginia, Burley, and Native varieties.

A total of 22,073.09 hectares planted with tobacco by 36,102 farmers in Luzon were already validated through drone technology for CY 2023 - 2024.

Administrator Sanchez added that area validation of tobacco plantations in Mindanao using drone technology had started. 

Already, two NTA staff, Senior Science Research Specialist Kenneth Russell L. Tannaval, and Project Evaluation Officer John James Canosa, held a re-echo training on drone operations at the NTA Mindanao Outreach Office in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental last month.

Eight NTA Mindanao staff and three personnel from LGU – Laguindingan have completed the training highlighted with theoretical operations of the drone equipment including its maintenance and safety, and the actual operations and simulation exercises in the aerial mapping of the tobacco plantations in Barangays C.P. Garcia and Lapad, both in Laguindingan town using the equipment.  They also learned on the basic operations of drone equipment, maintenance and component handling, flight control and emergency procedures, aerial photography and videography, and mapping applications.

Lazaro said the training was conducted in anticipation of the procurement of another unit of drone equipment for Mindanao comprising eight native tobacco-producing provinces.