February 18, 2008

Philippine corn output threatened by typhoon

Philippine corn production for 2008 could be affected negatively by La Nina, a weather phenomenon that brings more rainfall than usual, said the Department of Agriculture. 

The department will try to develop new areas that are less likely to be affected in order to mitigate the impact.

Agriculture assistant secretary and program director for corn, Dennis Araullo said they are focusing on increasing production in Mindanao at southern Philippines, which is outside the typhoon belt.

Araullo said 40,000-hectares out of the 75,000-hectares of new corn areas to be developed this year are located in Mindanao.

He added that Mindanao is not as vulnerable to typhoons compared to Cagayan Valley, a major corn-producing region in northern Philippines.

This year's corn output forecast by the agricultural department is 7.37 million tonnes, up 9 percent on-year but slightly lower than the production forecast of 7.4 million tonnes made by the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics.