LOCAL farming conglomerate AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) is spending as much as P80 million as it goes into the production and sale of white corn grits starting July this year.
ANI is initially infusing P20 million to P30 million for a mid-size mill that turns grain into grits. It also just started construction of a post-harvest facility with Beidahuang in Central Luzon. Investment in inputs (seeds and fertilizer) involve P5 million for existing 100 hectares and P50 million into 1,000 hectares by year-end.
“Although there was a mentality among the Tagalogs before that it’s for the poor, white corn is actually healthier. It’s widely accepted by the Visayas-Mindanao population and is the staple of boxing champs,” said ANI chief executive officer Antonio L. Tiu in a statement.
ANI is introducing into the market First Choice Always (FCA) white corn grit in July. This is as soon as harvest is up under its production partnership with the Institute of Plant Breeding-University of the Philippines in Los Baños (IPB-UPLB).
The product will be priced a little cheaper than hybrid rice. It is targeting the AB market which is known to pay a premium for nutritive value.
By July, ANI will distribute a few tons per week. With demand expected to increase briskly, white corn will be harvested from a few hundred hectares of contract growers by October.
FCA white corn grits will be available in packs of 2 and 5 kilos in all major supermarkets and 50-kilo sacks for wholesalers.
ANI is now the biggest supplier of agricultural produce—fresh and processed—in local supermarkets. It will use such existing network in the distribution of FCA white corn grits. White corn will further supplement its distribution of hybrid rice.
The main production areas for white corn for ANI’s distribution, which are being identified by the Department of Agriculture and UPLB, include the Calabarzon provinces (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).
Artemio M. Salazar, IPB-UPLB deputy director, said UPLB’s role is in the seed technology development, but the Department of Agriculture (DA) took a pivotal role of making this available on a wider scale. The DA funded white corn’s seed production by P40 million and will release P7 million yearly for the next five years.
Salazar noted corn is the health food recommended for energy specially for athletes. Some successful athletes were found to have been regular corn-eaters.
This is true not only for boxers from General Santos in Mindanao, but also for boxers and other sports personalities from Latin America and Africa. It also has more protein, more lysine and tryptophan, more dietary fiber, more minerals, and more antioxidants than when eating rice alone. --Jennifer A. Ng
