Philippine corn farmers offer higher price

Corn farmers in northern Negros Occidental are selling their produce at a higher-than-market price to the Corn Post-Harvest Processing and Trading Center here established jointly by the city government and the National Agri-Business Corp. (NABCOR), the corporate arm of the Department of Agriculture.

Plant manager Josefa Melocoton said the buying price for yellow corn with moisture content of 30% and below is PHP5.40 per kilogrammr, higher than the prevailing farm-gate price of P5/kg. Only crop from premium-quality certified hybrid seeds is accepted.

The selling price is PHP13.25/kg or PHP927.50 per 70-kg sack.

Melocoton said the corn center's higher buying price is aimed at safeguarding the interest of small farmers who are the project's main beneficiaries. The centre was established here in August last year.

Buying and selling operations have been good so far, but the center has yet to break even, she said.

The PHP33-million corn centre in Brgy. Rizal, the fifth such facility nationwide that is operated by NABCOR, caters to farmers from Sagay's adjacent areas, including Calatrava and Don Salvador Benedicto towns and San Carlos City in the neighbouring first district.