LGUs urged to sustain funds for corn farmers

The Department of Agriculture urged local government units to continue extending support to the propagation of corn and to help in the campaign encouraging the consumption of corn as staple food in order to ease the importation demand for rice.

DA Undersecretary Benjie Fondevilla, who graced the opening of the first-ever Corn Festival in Central Visayas held in Toledo City, said they enjoined provincial, city and municipal local government units to continue providing counterpart funds that would stretch financial resources and bankroll more corn and other fishery initiatives.

Other than that, he said there should also be a campaign for the public to consume or shift to corn as staple food in order to ease the demand to import rice.

 “We encourage more of our countrymen to eat corn for a healthier and more vigorous lifestyle and at the same time we could ease the pressure on rice supply and imports,” Fondevilla said.

Central Visayas, he said, contributed 167,300 tons or seven percent of the country’s total white corn production in 2006.

But Central Visayas could catch up by encouraging farmers to plant more high yielding and sturdy hybrid varieties as well as by opening available areas. This will also include intercropping under coconut trees, he added.

According to him, DA Secretary Arthur Yap recently made pronouncements that they are turning to the Visayas as well as in Mindanao to help offset the projected losses in rice and corn harvests in Luzon due to the adverse effects of the dry spell.

Central Visayas, he said, has a very favorable weather condition and so they expect that by shifting the focus, there will be an increase in corn production.

Pursuing this strategy, corn production is expected to reach 2.8 million tons by December which is 19 percent more than last year’s 2.36 million tons.

Further, he said the agency is very grateful for the holding of the first-ever Corn Festival, providing the right venue to discuss industry imperatives and strategies to enable Central Visayan farmers increase their productivity and income.

More than 500 corn farmers and businesses have registered in the Corn Festival. Most of the representatives come from the provinces of Bohol and Oriental Negros.

Results of the contests for the best corn delicacy, corn jingle, corn farmer, corn cluster area, corn cooperative as supported by the LGUs, and Binibining Corn are to be known at the end of the three-day activity. – Ferliza C. Contratista/MEEV