Government yields to corn farmers' demand for higher buying price

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture has given in to the demand of corn farmers to adhere to a P13 per kilogram buying price for corn following a three- hour heated discussion with members of the Philippine Maize Federation (PhilMaize) last Friday at the DA head office in Quezon City.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap met with around 50 corn growers and members of PhilMaize last Friday, trying to appease corn farmers who were calling for his resignation after his perceived failure to adhere to a promised P13/k support/buying price for yellow corn.

According to PhilMaize president Roger Navarro, the discussion at times was so heated that tempers flared and shouting matches ensued.

Fortunately, Navarro said, the DA decided to accede to the corn farmers’ demand that a P13/k buying price be applied for the purchase of 300,000 metric tons of yellow corn and a lower P10/k for an additional 300,000 MT of class B yellow corn.

The DA also agreed to apply retroactively the P13/k buying price for an earlier amount sold by the farmers to the National Food Authority (NFA) at the lower price of P10/k.

According to the DA though, the P13/k support price would be applied for the remaining 250,000 MT balance out of the 300,000 MT first batch allocations.

The NFA has already purchased 50,000 MT of corn just recently.

The DA did not comment about the retroactive application of the P13/k buying/support price for the initial 50,000 MT purchased by the NFA.

Further details of the compromise agreement, Navarro said, would still be worked out involving how to allocate the purchase of the 300,000 MT at P13/k and the retroactive application of the P13/k price

Corn, NFA’s Navarro pointed out, is more perishable than rice and starts deteriorating after three months.

Originally, Navarro said, the NFA’s targeted corn purchase for this year was just 50,000 MT.

However, following Yap’s observation of the increased production of corn farmers, it was decided that the NFA would purchase an additional 100,000 MT, bringing the NFA’s total purchases this year to 150,000 MT.

Yap explained to the corn farmers that the DA move last month to slash the support price of the NFA from P13 to P10 was meant to serve more farmers at a time when market prices were down and Region 2 growers were due to harvest some 600,000 metric tons in three to four weeks’ time.