Tuesday, June 03, 2008 High corn production raises farmers' income
A TOP official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the record breaking 17 percent increase in corn production for the first quarter translates into better incomes for farmers.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Field Operations Dennis Araullo, also the coordinator of the National Corn Program (NCP), said the yield meant an additional two million metric tons of corn for the first three months of the year.
The 17 percent hike for the first quarter compares well with the figure for the same period last year.
This phenomenal and record-breaking performance will benefit corn farmers, Araullo said.
The achievement came as corn areas expanded by 5.36 percent for the first quarter, pushing the total corn areas to 677,754 hectares compared to 643,274 hectares for a similar period last year.
Araullo stressed the record setting harvest was largely due to the widespread cultivation of hybrid yellow corn, which rose by 90 percent.
Good market prices have prompted many farmers to shift to the production of corn instead of rice, tomatoes or potatoes.
"Ang bottom line nyan, kikita ba ako? 'Yan ang tanong nila. Bakit ka naman magtatanim kung di ka mag-profit," Araullo said.
Corn now fetches between P11.50 and P12 per kilo, much higher than the P7 per kilo back in the 1990s.
There is no problem with yellow corn, the DA official said, since many companies are selling the seeds.
"The problem is white corn, which is the staple of many people in the Visayas and parts of Mindanao, and the department is working to ensure adequate supply of white corn seeds," Araullo said.
He said the DA is keen on achieving corn sufficiency by 2010.
This is the reason that NCP is asking for an additional P325 million for the 75,000 hectares of land for corn production, he added.
DA wants to develop idle land or cogonal areas into cornfields or production areas for other crops.
Administrator Oscar Garin of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is also working with the DA for the implementation of a nationwide corn-intercropping program in coconut plantations.
To ensure the good quality of corn seeds, Araullo said more drying facilities are needed. Corn has to be dried quickly before it is sold to consumers.
More grain centers and drying facilities are being established this year, he revealed.
"Our target this year is 50 units, with four of them already completed. Work on the 46 units is being done," Araullo said.
What makes corn attractive as a crop, he added, is its good price all over the world. It is in demand as a source of alternative fuel or bioethanol. One ton of corn produces 380 liters of bioethanol.
However, corn production in the Philippines is earmarked for feeds and food for humans.
"If we exceed production, there will be some for ethanol. Once we attain self-sufficiency, ethanol, production is waiting," stressed Araullo.
