June 13, 2008

Philippine province posts improved corn yield

The Philippine province of Iloilo reported a higher corn production at 14,000 hectares, already yielding 53,000 tonnes so far.

Ildefonso Toledo, provincial agriculture officer, said that with favorable climate, Iloilo can attain corn sufficiency and contribute to national targets.

Improved corn production in Panay provinces, particularly in Iloilo, has helped Western Visayas boost the national corn output from January to June this year.

Yellow corn still has the highest yield in Iloilo with about 52,000 tonnes as more farmers plant the variety to supply the needs of the feed millers.

Production of white corn, a staple in the Visayas and Mindanao, was only 1,069 tonnes, Toledo added.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) had earlier said that corn production in Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Cagayan Valley drove the 20-percent increase in the country's total yield in the first semester of 2008.

Philippine corn production totalled 3.29 million tonnes in the first six months of 2008.