The Philippines may exceed the forecast corn production for the remaining months of the year despite huge losses incurred by farmers due to El Niño, a group of corn farmers said.
The Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) said the current climate and soil conditions in the country and usage of high-yielding corn varieties recently approved by the government would offset the low production from the regions still recovering from the effects of the prolonged dry spell.
“I’m optimistic that we can hit the growth forecast. Maybe we can even exceed [the forecast production] with the conditions right now, especially that there’s no forecast drought,” PhilMaize President Roger V. Navarro told the BusinessMirror.
Navarro noted that all the corn-producing regions will produce higher volume due to favorable climate conditions during the next cropping season, except for the Isabela region.
“We have a forecast shortfall in Region 2, especially in Isabela province, because of the effect of the prolonged drought,” Navarro said, adding that the forecast is yet to be validated by concerned officials.
In its August round of forecast for crop production, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has lowered its projection for the country’s corn production in the third quarter of the year to 2.673 million metric tons (MMT) from the 2.696 MMT it forecast earlier in July. However, the agency’s new forecast is still higher than last year’s production in the same period of 2.407 MMT by 11 percent.
“The probable drop in corn output could be attributed to contraction in harvest area brought about by dry spell in Cagayan and Isabela,” the PSA report said.
Based on farmers’ planting intentions, the PSA said the corn production in the fourth quarter of the year will increase by 4.78 percent, from 1.73 MMT in 2015 to 1.81 MMT. For the second half of the year, the PSA said corn production will expand by 8.98 percent.
“Probable increases in harvest areas and yields may be attributed to more plantings with anticipation of rainfall and availability of seeds,” the PSA report said.
The country’s corn production in the first half declined by 16.35 percent to 2.83 MMT, from 3.38 MMT recorded a year ago.
“We are hoping that the planting intentions will not drop given the case in Isabela. We’re hoping that the farmers in Isabela will not be discouraged from farming again,” Navarro said.
The provincial government of Isabela has been under the state of calamity after its Sangguniang Panlalawigan assessed that the dry spell has caused the province some P1 billion worth of damage on corn and palay.
Isabela’s agriculture office has called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to help the farmers by providing at least P200 million worth of fuel and corn seeds.
The latest cropping season for corn started in September and may last until early January, according to the DFAs Agriculture and Fisheries Market Information System.
Bt corn permits
Navarro also said the release of permits allowing corn farmers to use and plant the high-yielding Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) MON89034 and NK603 corn varieties would boost the farmer’s yield throughout the
cropping season.
“Yes, we are going to use those varities already and it will boost our production in hitting the target,”
Navarro said.
“There are regions wherein a certain variety of seed is not applicable or comfortable to the planting area. Given the approval of these varieties, our farmers now have a wider choice on seeds,” he added.
The MON89304 and NK603 corn-seed varieties are resistant to corn borers, cutworm and earworm that infest corn plants during the rainy season. These are preferred by farmers, Navarro said.
The Bureau Plant of Industry (BPI), an attached agency of the DA, has approved the permit for propagation of the MON89304 and NK603 corn-seed varieties on September 30.
The said Bt corn varieties passed the assessment of six different concerned agencies—as stated under the guidelines of Joint Department Circular (JDC) S2016—regarding the varieties’ health, environmental and socioeconomic implications.
The assessors for MON98034 x NK603 corn varieties are BPI’s Scientific and Technical Review Panel, to evaluate the applicant’s submitted risk-assessment report; the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), to determine the varieties’ effect on the environment; the Department on Health (DOH), to determine the varieties’ impact on environmental health; Insect Resistance Management Team (Irmat), to review and evaluate the application for any IRM related concerns and issues; Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), to determine if the applicant is duly licensed pesticide handler and follows good agricultural practices; and another expert to assess the varieties’ socioeconomic, ethical and cultural (SEC) effects.
“After reviewing the documents submitted by the applicant, the two members of the STRP find scientific evidence that the regulated article applied for commercial propagation has no evidence of interaction on the resulting gene products, while the DOH, DENR, Irmat and SEC expert recommended for the issuance of Biosafety Permit for corn MON89034 x NK603,” according to the consolidated report released by the BPI biotechnology office.
“On the other hand, FPA found that Monsanto Philippines Inc. is a duly licensed pesticide importer, exporter, indentor and national distributor of agricultural pesticides,” the report added.
Five government agencies, including the DA, the DOH and the DENR, issued Joint Department Circular 1 in March to replace Administrative Order (AO) 8, which governed the propagation and importation of genetically modified crops.
The Supreme Court nullified AO 8 in December 2015, when it ruled against the field testing of Bt eggplant.