WV lady corn farmer wins nat'l search
Iloilo, as an agricultural province, has another feather to its cap. A lady farmer is adjudged as the national winner in the search for outstanding quality corn farmer and she is also the first lady of one of the towns of Iloilo. She bested other farmers who are all males and are from the top corn producing provinces. She produces the best corn in the country in terms of quality.
This outstanding farmer is Mrs. Florita Villanueva the wife of Mayor Pio Villanueva of San Dionisio, Iloilo. She could have lived a glamorous life, but, she chose to be in the farm -- in the mountains where one will wonder how a farmer can grow corn with such a topography. Corn is planted everywhere and during harvest, the mountains is turned into gold.
The awarding ceremony will be at the Convention Hall of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Quezon City on October 19 this year. The search is conducted by the Quality Corn Management.
Mrs. Villanueva has 18 ha. of corn land in barangays Taloato, Cudionan and San Nicolas all in San Dionisio. Just this September, her average production is 18.0 tons/ha. She use 30Y80 pioneer seeds and adopts 70 X 25 cm. distance of planting. The cropping pattern in her farm is corn-corn-fallow. The first cropping is planted in May or June and the next is from September to November.
Another plus factor in her farm is that she uses organic fertilizer. She is not an ordinary farmer because she studies what is best for her farm in order to increase and improve the quality of her produce. One of her innovations on how to control fungus is through deleafing.
What makes the corn of Mrs. Villanueva different is that it is free from aflatoxin -- a group of compounds produced by some strains of certain fungi that cause illness or death when ingested by man or animals.
The quality of corn is maintained because of the postharvest facilities present in her farm. She has a mechanical dryer with a capacity of six tons per batch, a 200 sq.m. drying pavement and warehause which can store 1,000 bags. With several tons produced and bought from other corn growers she has designed two corn shellers with a capacity of one ton per hour.
With the degree of BS Commerce and having the best quality -- marketing is not a problem. The marketing outlets are Midway, Lovefeeds and MCR. Because she produces more and more every year, she is the most sought-after cooperator of the technology demonstrations of Monsanto, Organic fertilizer company, Pioneer and the Department of Agriculture -- open pollinated variety seeds.
Mrs. Villanueva is strongly supported by her husband-Mayor Pio Villanueva and their four children. Even though she is already 68 years old, her day is not complete when she cannot go to the farm. She is into corn farming for 26 years -- a feat which we could hardly follow.
The lady corn farmer is always willing to share her technology on corn farming. During lakbay-aral, she shares her innovations with the corn growers. Not only that, with her income from corn farming, she finances other corn areas. For the first cropping this year, she has financed 485 ha. in the municipalities of Batad, Balasan, Estancia and San Dionisio.
Her experience is complemented with her trainings and refresher courses. At present, she is the treasurer of the Iloilo Corn Growers Association. She does not forget to have soil analysis in order to ensure that she uses the right amount and kind of fertilizer. The technical assistance of the Department of Agriculture is of great help to her also.
With these achievements, even tough she can afford to have more than she wants including luxury cars Mrs. Villanueva won't leave her farm and will continue to help those who emulate her technology.
(Theresa A. Gerafil/RAFID 6)