Corn farmers belonging to the Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) urged the government to increase the support price for corn and to allow them to export their produce.
PhilMaize President Roger V. Navarro appealed for government help as the prevailing farm-gate price of corn have remained below P11 per kilogram. The group attributed this to the importation of feed wheat, an alternative to yellow corn, used in manufacturing animal feeds.
“The government must intervene or else we will issue a request compelling the livestock sector to calibrate their importation in a way that will not affect our local producers,” Navarro told the BusinessMirror.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the average farm-gate price of corn fell to P10.85 per kg in December 2016, from P11.50 per kg recorded a year ago.
The PhilMaize chief noted that Republic Act (RA) 7607, or the Magna Carta for Small Farmers, gives them the right to “participate in a market that is free from monopoly, cartel, or any other situation, which may suppress prices to their disadvantage.”
“The Department of Agriculture, through its appropriate agencies, shall establish a price-support system for certain agricultural products, especially rice and corn, taking into consideration the need to increase the real income of small farmers,” RA 7607 read.
“The government shall also endeavor to set farm-gate prices that respond to the changing economic conditions,” it added.
The National Food Authority (NFA) buys corn from farmers at a support price of P13 per kg. Data from the PSA, however, showed that the NFA’s corn purchases have been minimal.
The food agency attached to the Office of the President is mandated to regulate and monitor the stability of corn supply and prices.
To ensure farmers’ income, PhilMaize has been asking the government for years to allow them to export corn, particularly when farm-gate prices are low due to a supply glut.
Navarro has earlier called for the creation the Philippine Corn Development Authority, which will oversee the government’s program for the corn sector.
“We should also have a commodity exchange system, wherein the harvest would be kept in a warehouse and would be traded on later dates,” Navarro said.
He appealed to stakeholders in the livestock and poultry sector to consider the plight of corn farmers. “They should calibrate their importation of feed wheat and corn.”
PhilMaize had earlier warned that farmers may be discouraged from planting corn due to low farm-gate prices. This, he said, could result in lower corn output for 2017.
According to PhilMaize, the country’s corn production likely went down by as much as 10 percent to 6.8 million metric tons (MMT), compared to the 7.52 MMT recorded in 2015.
Navarro earlier said the drop in output could be attributed to the lingering effects of El Niño and the strong typhoons that ravaged the country, such as Typhoon Lawin (international code name Haima).
“The projected 10-percent cut is the maximum. Corn production last year may have declined by a minimum of 5 percent,” he said.
Citing PSA data, Navarro said the country’s corn production from January to September 2016 reached only 5.49 MMT, 1.77 MMT short of the agency’s projected output of 7.26 MMT
in 2016.