Hybrid squash offer farmers higher income

MANILA, Philippines - The production of hybrid squash seeds as crop after corn offers a strong promise for farmers to enjoy a higher income as proven in Cagayan through a partnership of the East West Seeds Corp. (EWSC) with the government.

A substantial increase in revenue of as much as 10 to 14 times has been shown possible from a squash cropping after corn cropping in Cagayan under a program of the EWSC, the Philippines’ biggest hybrid vegetable seed producer, with the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).  

The program was co-implemented with the National Agricultural and Fisheries Council (NAFC) and co-funded by the Japanese government’s KR2 program. 

It employed the technical expertise of the Farmers’ Community Development Foundation (FCDF).  

Farmers in Sto. Nino, Cagayan  may be among the country’s poorest farmers with their traditional monocropping – whether planting corn after the first corn cropping  season in a year or rice after rice.  

Monocrop of corn is planted in the flood plain areas of Sto. Niño in May-August and December-March. The rainfed lowland areas are planted to rice in July-October, but the areas are vacant for the rest of the year. Whether corn-corn or rice-rice, that gives them a net income of just around P5,000 per hectare.     

But the growing of hybrid squash seeds after corn becomes an important livelihood enhancer for farmers.  It increases their net income to between P50,000 to P70,000 in a period of four months.

“Many farmers have expressed their interest in adopting the new cropping pattern and intend to expand their areas for squash planting.  Their endeavor could be sustained since they have the needed technology and a systems support for credit and marketing,” said Dr. Ponciano A. Batugal, FCDF project leader.  

Even a simple change in cropping pattern can significantly improve lives of farmers in difficult areas such as the river-flooded plains along the Chico River.  

“We need to explore new techniques such as a change in cropping pattern for farmers which may improve their income in a life-changing way.  It may not require a very big capital, but it requires us to teach farmers how to do it,” said Dr. Nicomedes P. Eleazar, BAR director.  

The program introduced the planting of squash after corn to 117 farmers tilling 50 hectares of river-flooded land in nine barangays in Sto. Niño. The farmers were taught to use the recommended parental lines in order to produce the superior hybrid squash seeds.   

They were taught the hand pollination technique where farmers simply shake the plants between 7 to 10 a.m. everyday for 21 to 30 days to manually marry or assist pollination between the male and female plants.  

Upon harvest, the seeds are extracted, cleaned, and dried for three days until their moisture content is at 18 percent.

The farmers in the study achieved an average yield of 121 squash seeds per hectare.  At a price of P500 per kilo as guaranteed by the government program, farmers can have a potential gross income of P605,000 per hectare. 

Hybrid squash seed production faces good market prospects as squash is not just a household vegetable used in traditional Filipino dishes like the famous pinakbet.   

Processing has given so much added value to the vitamins and mineral-rich crop that it is now being canned and processed into noodles. Its roasted seed is enjoyed as a snack food. Squash is also used in soups and pies in hotels and restaurants.