November 20, 2006

Philippines eyes corn sufficiency by 2007

The Philippines may stop importing corn for the first time in history next year as it hits corn production at a self-sufficiency level of 6.1 million tonnes owing to hybrid corn expansion and government's investment on post harvest facilities, local media reported on Saturday (Nov 18 ).

Ric Pinca, Philippine Association of Feed Millers executive director, said that the Philippines' corn sufficiency status, is possible next year, according to a report by The Manila Bulletin daily.

Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Jesus Emmanuel M. Paras said earlier that corn production is foreseen to hit 6.1 million tonnes by yearend, equalling or surpassing a little the consumption level.

The high output is possible, he said, given the 4.83 million-tonne production from January to September this year, up by 15.71 percent from the same period last year. Besides, the second half of the year normally represents a higher production of some 60 percent of the country's total corn production.

Philippine Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has predicted sustained bumper harvests of corn in 2007 due to the government¡¯s intensified interventions in corn production.

Yap told the media that corn yields are likely to 1.74 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2007.

Citing official data, Yap estimated that from January to March 2007, total corn harvests would increase by 13.6 percent more than this year's 1.53 million tonnes.

In a statement, Yap said corn and rice farmers are bullish on even more favourable harvests in the first quarter of 2007 due to the heightened support of the DA-GMA (Department of Agriculture- Ginintuang Masaganang Ani) rice and corn programmes that give farmers easy access to hybrid and in-bred seeds that promise higher yields.

The DA reported that total area planted to hybrid corn increased from 400,000 hectares in 2001 to the current 800,000 hectares.