Record corn harvest seen

The country is expected to post a record corn harvest of at least six million metric tons this year, 13.2 percent more than last year’s production of only 5.3 million MT, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said yesterday.

In a speech during the launch of the Corn for Health Project and awarding of Outstanding Corn Quality Farmers at the Department of Agriculture, Yap attributed the projected increase in corn harvest to a five-percent increase in harvest area and a nine-percent increase in average yield per hectare.

He said the use of quality hybrid and open pollinated varieties of corn, plus lesser occurrence of pest and diseases, contributed to the improved yield.

Unfortunately, Yap said, the Philippines is still a long way from being self-sufficient in corn production. Last year alone, the country imported 930,000 MT of yellow corn and substitutes like feed wheat to meet demand.

He said the government will pursue the GMA-Corn program by providing farmers with the needed inputs, technical assistance and infrastructure support like production and post-harvest equipment and facilities.

The government will continue to expand and consolidate farms into clusters planted to hybrid corn, cassava and other feed crops, he added.

Yap said the government wants to increase the production and consumption of white corn, particularly among the 12 million corn-eating Filipinos in the Visayas and Mindanao. He said increased consumption of corn, Yap said, would ease pressure on rice demand.

Yap is hoping to make corn farming a profitable and sustainable enterprise which could eventually be integrated with feed milling and livestock industries resulting to affordable poultry and livestock products and increased incomes for farmers and rural folk.