The tobacco that is widely used in the manufacture of cigarettes can also be used as an organic pesticide.
According research, tobacco works effectively in controlling insects like aphids, leaf rollers and stem borers. It is said to be even more effective and safer than chemical-based pesticides which destroy soil productivity and harm the environment.
Filipino cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp promotes the alternative use of tobacco as pesticides to help reduce Filipino farmers’ reliance on chemical-based pesticides. This will also in return increase the income of local tobacco farmers and protect the environment at the same time.
Mighty Corporation executive vice president and spokesman Oscar Barrientos said that a small but growing number of Filipino farmers were shifting from chemical-based to organic pesticides, or a combination of the two. “This trend should be encouraged,” he added.
Local farmers make up 11.55 million of the Philippines’ 38.6-million-member labor force and contribute 20% of its gross domestic product. Insects and other pests have adversely affected farmers’ production of main agricultural crops, including rice, corn, coconuts, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, coffee, mangoes and abaca.
Also affected are secondary crops like peanuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, cabbages, eggplants, calamansi, rubber, and cotton.
The nicotine from tobacco has been used on crops as a natural insecticide that does not have the health and environmental risks of chemical-based pesticides.
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