An incentive to corn farmers

A strong price regime this harvest season is expected to provide an incentive for farmers to plant more hybrid corn starting next month under the GMA Corn Program. The project has been put in place to increase awareness and adoption of improved technologies for sustainable productivity.

Records from the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS) show an eight -percent production upswing from 942,150 metric tons (MT) last year to about 1,011,895 MT this year.

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. said there are one million corn farmers tilling one million hectares who stand to benefit from hybrid corn. "This sustained growth in corn production is fuelled by favorable prices in the international market," Lorenzo said.

"This is so as Asian countries were in a buying frenzy in anticipation of increased wheat prices in the world market. Wheat is a cheap feed substitute and when its price shot up to $185 per metric ton in the world market, the scramble for yellow corn began. Its impact in the local market was reflected in the December prices as US corn grade no.2 shot up to about $200 a metric ton from $128 per metric ton of yellow corn."

Bouyed by the international price of corn, the farm gate prices of corn in Mindanao and Isabela registered a high P10.50 per kilo and in General Santos City as much as P11.50 per kilo, said DA Undersecretary Tetchi Capellan.

The good prices are providing incentives to corn farmers to close the annual gap between demand and supply which is two million kilos. The Department of Agriculture is taking advantage of the corn farmers’ en-thusiasm by expanding the hybrid corn program to 85,000 hectares from only 30,000 hectares last year in the corn belt regions of Cagayan Valley, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao and Muslim Mindanao.

The GMA Corn Program offers discount coupon for the procurement of hybrid corn seeds. Last season, early adopters of Gloria corn had higher yields to earn bigger incomes. — RMaE