Capiz’ corn prod’n reaches 58T metric tons
Roxas City – A corn production estimated at 57,956 metric tons has been recorded by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) in Capiz despite a slight decrease of cornfields in the province last year.
Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) – Capiz Agricultural Statistics Officer Eric Piansay noted that the figure is lower than the 58,964 corn production in 2008.
The statistics covered a total of 22,031 hectares from a much wider corn plantation of 23,857 hectares in the same period two years ago.
However, Piansay accredited the good production of corn last year to the use of good quality seeds made available through the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Corn Program.
GMA Corn is a government program which focuses on food security and poverty alleviation. It allows local government units and other stakeholders to develop and manage their own corn production plans and programs suitable in their respective localities.
The program is being complemented by the establishment of post-harvest facilities nationwide to benefit farmers by increasing their productivity while lowering production cost, resulting in increased profit.
The latest beneficiaries of these facilities were corn farmers in Agusan del Sur where a newly constructed Corn Post Harvest Processing Trading Center (CPHPTC) was inaugurated by President Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo last Jan. 5.
Aside from offering short courses in proper planting, milling and selling of corn, the CPHPTC will also provide warehouse facilities, truck scaling, cob drying, shelling and grain drying operations to farmer beneficiaries.
Through a simplified buying and selling process, the center acquires wet ear corn from farmers, in effect removing the cost of drying and shelling from the farmers and thereby increasing their profit.
They are paid half of the prevailing price of dry grain. (PIA/A.Lumaque)
