DA ups support to corn industry
ROXAS CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is intensifying its support to the local corn industry from production up to post harvest stage to ensure farmers will attain higher yield, lower production and marketing costs and reduced post harvest losses.
DA Assistant Secretary and GMA Corn Program Director Dennis Araullo said one particular strategy it is implementing is to allow farmers to produce quality feed and food grade corn and to reduce post harvest losses from 15 to seven percent through the provision of post harvest facilities for growers in major producing areas across the country.
DA’s move complements the ongoing thrust of the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy as much of the corn produce of Filipino farmers in keeping with its commitment to them.
NFA administrator Jessup P. Navarro said the NFA is targeting to buy 4.6 million bags of yellow corn grains equivalent to P2.8 billion and 1.3 million bags of white corn grains worth P892 million until December this year.
With the government focusing on domestic corn buying, aside from the support price of P12.30 per kilogram, the NFA, Navarro said is also granting additional incentives of P0.20 per kg each for drying and transport and another P0.30 per kg for cooperative development. “This translates to an effective P13 per kg buying price for clean and dry corn kernels,” he cited.
“We are confident that at this buying price, the farmers will have better income and this will entice them to sell their produce to the agency,” he added.
Navarro said that by end of July, cumulative corn procurement of NFA has already reached 383,426 bags or an equivalent of 19,171 metric tons.
For this year, Araullo said DA is aiming to complete the construction of 50 corn postharvest processing and trading centers and 44 village-type corn cob dryers in strategic corn-growing areas all over the country.
To date, there are already nine processing and trading centers operating in the country; one each in Kabacan, North Cotabato; Banga, South Cotabato; Malungon, Saranggani Province; Sergio Osmeña, Zamboanga del Norte; Sagay, Negros Occidental; Ramon Magsaysay, Zamboanga del Sur; Carmen Rosales, Pangasinan; Bantay, Ilocos Sur; and Talacag, Bukidnon, which provide drying and marketing services to thousands of corn farmers. (PNA/PIA)