Corn productivity raised

Years back, farmers in Barangay Sto. Niño, Capoocan, Leyte, harvested an average of only 2.05 tons per hectare of corn.

Their low yield had been attributed to lack of funds to purchase farm inputs, use of traditional varieties and cultural practices, occurrence of pests and diseases, and inadequate transport facilities.

That time is past.

Today, corn farmers in the barangay produce an average of 5.05 t/ha of corn and 1.03 t/ha of peanut from the usual 0.8 t/ha.

The integration of swine production into the corn-based farming system also provided the farmers additional income of P17,322.

Today, corn production contributes 44 percent to the farmers’ total income; swine production, 35 percent; and peanut production, 21 percent.

The transformation of Sto. Niño was brought about by the implementation of the Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR), the R&D banner program of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR).

Since it was launched more than half a decade ago, CPAR has brought progress to rural communities covered by it.

The program aims to fast-track technology production and adoption and create immediate impact in the countryside. It involves the various dimensions of total technology, family, farm, community, and enterprise/industry approaches.

In the case of Barangay Sto. Niño, CPAR introduced technology options to increase agricultural productivity and income of farmers in the village. It also conducted capability building activities to enable the farmers to manage their resources and make sound decisions for themselves.

More important, the program strengthened linkages and resource sharing among the stakeholders.

CPAR was implemented in Barangay Sto. Niño with the assistance of the DA-Eastern Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (EVIARC), the Capoocan local government unit, and Leyte State University (LSU).

Sto. Niño was chosen as project site because of the corn farmers’ low corn productivity.

A report on the "success story" of the barangay won the second prize in the Best Development Paper category of the 2006 National Symposium on Agriculture and Resources Research and Development (NSARRD).

NSARRD is sponsored annually by the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD). — Rudy A. Fernandez