Tobacco manufacturer Mighty Corp giving hope to farmers

Filipino-owned company, Mighty Corp has been pushing to help the tobacco industry through their projects. One of which is helping three million tobacco farmers and their dependents increase their yield in the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions.

According to Mighty’s executive vice president Oscar Barrientos said that the company’s share of the domestic market dramatically increased from a minimal 5 percent in 2012 to 20 percent in 2013. This increased help to millions of tobacco farmers whose lives were dependent on the tobacco industry.

“We have earned our fair share of the market by making quality but affordable cigarettes that were smartly packaged, creatively and ingenuously sold to the mass market. That is the secret of our success in breaking the cigarette monopoly in this country and we’re mighty proud of our modest success coming from a homegrown and Filipino-owned cigarette company,” said Barrientos

 “With a bigger share of Mighty Corp. in the market today, we are giving the tobacco farmers a fair share of our success by offering competitive prices to their crops,” he added.

 “Last year alone, we have bought even the low-priced tobacco leaves. Had Mighty Corp. not done that, it would have created a great economic dislocation for tobacco farmers,” said Barrientos.

“We will be happy to offer better prices to tobacco farmers and are willing to tie-up with the Department of Agriculture and the National Tobacco Administration to cement our partnership with the farmers,” he said.

Aside from the farmers who were benefiting from Mighty’s growth, it also pushed their way to pay the right amount of taxes annually.

“Our contribution is in the form of taxes, because it helps the development of the country, with taxes. We were paying P300 million before, now we are paying more than P8 billion in excise taxes and that helps the economy. We also employed more factory workers. Now, we have more than 2,000,” he said.

Barrientos said with bigger contribution, Mighty was also expanding its corporate social responsibility projects to help tobacco cooperatives increase their production.

“As far as CSR is concerned, we will have irrigation pumps in their area and provide mini tractors. This will come in the form of grant. We will have scholarship grants,” he said.

“We have other plans. Aside from scholarship, by next year, we plan to give awards for outstanding farmers, in cooperation with the National Tobacco Administration,” he added.

Mighty Corp. had a long-term plan to improve its market share and help hundreds of thousands of tobacco leaf growers’ workers.