Tags: Agribusiness
By Anna Valmero
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA – Corn farmers, especially in regions that were flooded by recent typhoons Pedring and Quiel, will get support from the Department of Agriculture (DA) with provision of corn seedlings.
“We urge farmers to plant more corn as well as provide them seeds and fertilizer for the purpose,” said agriculture chief Proceso Alcala.
Corn production and consumption is promoted nationwide to help reduce the demand for rice, which is always subject to fluctuating prices. Mindanao is eyed as the ideal site for post-harvest investments due to favourable weather conditions.
Having post-harvest facilities in Mindanao is key to help facilitate transport of corn to target markets. Such facilities can spare corn farmers in Isabela from incurring significant production losses due to successive onslaught of typhoons.
Farmers were able to bring their wet corn to private post-harvest facilities there for drying and processing, readying the grain for proper storage of up to two years, Alcala noted.
“What’s good is farmers there can already harvest during rainy weather without having to worry about drying their produce along roadsides,” he said. To help farmers recover from typhoons, DA provided certified seeds and subsidy so farmers can replace destroyed crops.
“For farmers whose crops have no chance of recovery, we’re giving 100 percent subsidy while those with crops that can still recover receive 50 percent subsidy,” Alcala reiterated. DA’s total subsidy is P1,200 worth of certified seeds and partial subsidy is worth P600.
Moreover, the agency also issued the early release of Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. payments for the affected farmers, repairing of damaged irrigation facilities and implementing the ‘Plant Now, Pay Later’ scheme.
The government is looking to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2013. The DA is targeting to reduce rice imports from two million tons in 2010 to one million tons this year.
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