June 28, 2007

Philippines sets corn output growth at 8-10 percent in next three years
 

The Philippine Department of Agriculture has set an annual production growth target of 8-10 percent for corn in the next three years to achieve self-sufficiency in the grain by 2010, a senior official said Thursday (Jun 28).

"We need to grow by at least 8-10 percent every year for the next three years if we are to meet the requirements of the livestock sector," said Dennis Araullo, the department's programme director for corn.

To meet this target, the department plans to build 1,000 mechanical dryer units by 2010, he said, adding for this year alone, the department will be building 200 units and another 300 units next year.

The dryers will hopefully help encourage farmers to plant more, he said. In the past, a lack of post harvest facilities such as dryers has deterred farmers from planting corn, as high moisture content causes the grain to develop the cancer-causing aflatoxin.

The department has set a production target of 6.9 million tonnes for this year, up 13 percent from last year's output. Corn is a major component in livestock and poultry feeds.

So far this year, livestock and poultry raisers have imported 120,000 tonnes of corn from Argentina.