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PRODUCTION of white corn, which is considered as a
staple by 17 million Filipinos, will grow by 15.2
percent to 2.88 million metric tons (MMT) this year,
according to the figures released by the Department of
Agriculture’s (DA) Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Corn
Program.
To
ensure that this projected output will be met, Dennies
Araullo, GMA Corn Program national coordinator and
agriculture assistant secretary, said the intercropping
of white corn under coconut trees in 100,000 hectares is
underway in several provinces nationwide.
“White
corn is also being given equal priority as yellow corn
[because] it serves as staple for 20 percent of 88
milion Filipinos, mostly in the Visayas,” said Araullo.
The
intercropping of corn under coconut trees is a joint
initiative of the GMA Corn Program and the Philippine
Coconut Authority (PCA) aimed at increasing the incomes
of coconut farmers.
In 2007
the country’s production of white corn also went up by
100,000 metric tons (MT) to 2.5 MMT.
The
country’s top five white corn-producing regions are
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Soccsksargen,
Northern Mindanao, Davao Region and
Zamboanga Peninsula.
To boost
production, Araullo said the DA, through the GMA Corn
Program, will promote the usage of hybrid and quality
open-pollinated variety seeds, and continuously provide
other production support such as postharvest facilities.
For the
whole of 2008, the target of the DA is to produce a
total of 7.4 MMT of corn, which is 10 percent higher
than the 6.7 MMT produced in 2007.
The
department is confident that farmers will plant more
corn because of its good price, both in the
international and the domestic market. |
