Official assures solution to corn fungus

CANDABA -- A town official has assured corn growers here that appropriate actions will be undertaken to address the looming problem on fungus and rust on their crops.

Leny Manalo, Mayor Jerry Pelayo's chief of staff, said they are looking at the matter seriously, as this problem can cause tremendous damage in agriculture and could probably result in critical losses for the corn growers.

Manalo admitted that the municipality has no allocated funds to immediately address the problem, stressing the need to find ways on how to raise funds to purchase the needed fungicide.

"Sa ngayon ay wala tayong pondo para rito pero titingnan natin kung ano magagawa natin para makabili tayo ng fungicide (We have no funds for it, but we will see what we can do to be able to buy fungicide)," he added.

However, he said the Regional Office of the Department of Agriculture is in a better position to solve the problem, being the lead agency responsible for agricultural concerns.

The corn growers earlier expressed concern that agricultural crop damages here have reached an alarming stage, with most farmers incurring close to a million pesos in losses.

These farmers attributed fungus and rust on corns on climate change, claiming the abnormal changes in the condition of the environment triggered the problem.

Affected farmers are from the villages of Sto. Rosario, Bambang, Gulap, Lanang, and Pansinao.