Corn Congress advances corn industry in SurSur
CAGWAIT, Surigao del Sur -- After three years of hiatus due to
the pandemic, the Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga successfully conducted
the 4th Regional Corn Congress, converging corn industry players and other
stakeholders on August 24 to 25, 2023 in Cagwait, Surigao del Sur .
According to Lovely Joy L. Saludez of DA Caraga, the two-day activity
specifically intended to gather and consolidate all corn industry key players
to discuss current issues and challenges, strategies for sustainable corn
production, shared best practices, technology promotion, and market potential
for corn.
"Corn, cassava, soybean, and sorghum are DA’s priority commodities under
the Corn Program, which are considered as staple food for humans, including
feeds, and industrial uses," Saludez added.
To improve the lives of the farmers through various interventions, the feed
formulation using locally available raw materials was importantly discussed in
the activity to lower the use of commercial feeds, thereby increasing the
income of the farmers. The use of Bio-N Fertilizer was reintroduced to save on
input costs and attain optimum crop yield it was learned.
Regional Executive Director Engr. Ricardo M. OΓ±ate Jr. stated, "The DA has
always been looking after the development of every stakeholder which includes
the small farmers."
"While we are helping our stakeholders to flourish in the agricultural
field, we make sure not to put at stake the chance to prosper and improve the
lives of small farmers. So, when we encourage them to plant corn, we do not
just help them in the production, but also in the marketing aspect," Dir.
OΓ±ate emphasized.
Provincial Agriculturist Marcos M. Quico of Surigao del Sur, on the other hand,
encouraged the participants to continue boosting corn production and other
grains, to achieve food and feed sufficiency and enhance the competitiveness of
the domestic livestock and poultry sector, as corn is one of the important
components of livestock feed formulation,
“If we fail to produce corn, we fail to produce livestock and poultry animals,”
Quico said.
Meanwhile, Nicamel Bajao, chairperson of Maningalao-Lingayao Agricultural
Cooperative (MALICO) stressed the significance of participating in the said
event.
"As a corn farmer, I never miss an event such as Corn Congress because
this is an important gathering where we become updated on the new technologies
and effective strategies to ensure quality and high production," Bajao
explained.
Based on data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2022,
the Caraga Region produced 109,512 metric tons (MT) of corn, which is 64%
yellow corn, and 36% white corn. In the first semester of 2023, it recorded
22,222 MT.
For 2023, the DA-Caraga targets to produce 126,486 MT of corn; 45,507 MT of
white corn and 80, 979 of yellow corn. It aims to increase farmers' income from
P17,956 per hectare to P21,726 per hectare for white corn, and P19,720 per hectare
to P26,425 per hectare for yellow corn.
The DA continuously capacitates and strengthens the farmers and enhances their
knowledge through seminars and trainings to help them become resilient to the
challenges in their field.
The Regional Corn Congress bared the theme, "MAISaganang Agrikultura,
Maunlad na Ekonomiya." (Photo credit to: Lovely Joy L. Saludez, DA-Caraga,
/NGPB, PIA-Surigao del Sur)
