Santiago.- Rafael Antonio Almonte, Director of the Tobacco Institute of the Dominican Republic (INTABACO), confirmed that the institution has successfully achieved presidential targets by planting 15.5 million tasks and producing 31 million quintals of tobacco.
Almonte highlighted that at the outset of President Luis Abinader’s administration, efforts were initiated to revitalize the tobacco sector, aiming to restore jobs, boost exports, and attract domestic and foreign investors to participate in the national tobacco industry.
He emphasized that these efforts resulted in meeting specific presidential objectives, including the production of 30.1 million seedlings in trays under controlled environments and support provided for 175,000 traditional seedbeds.
Under his leadership, the institution also facilitated the construction of 237 new curing houses and the refurbishment of 1,205 existing houses through a wood service program. Additionally, 172,700 land tasks for tobacco cultivation were repaired.
Almonte made these remarks during his address at the celebration marking the 62nd anniversary of INTABACO, held at the “Profesor Eugenio de Jesús Marcano Fondeur” Botanical Garden in Santiago de los Caballeros. Eulalio Ramírez, Vice Minister of Agricultural Production, spoke on behalf of Minister of Agriculture Limber Cruz at the event, following a Eucharist presided over by Reverend Father Teófilo Estévez and attended by INTABACO staff.
The celebration drew notable figures from the agricultural, political, and business sectors