March 1, 2006

Davao region in Philippines welcomes hybrid corn

Buoyed by last year's increased corn production, the regional government of Davao in the southern Philippines is embarking on various projects expected to increase corn production.

Herna Palma, senior agriculturist and regional corn coordinator of the Department of Agriculture said despite the decrease in production area, corn yield remains high with the introduction of new technologies.

Last year's corn production reached 266,700 tonnes compared with the previous year's 247,781 tonnes. However, planted area have fallen to 189,675 hectares from the previous 203,320 hectares.

This is due to the fact that some farmers have shifted to growing high value crops instead of planting corn, Palma said. Some unproductive areas will be converted into corn farms supervised by an agri-technician, Palma said.

50 percent of corn farming in the region is now under a programme based on new technology. Palma pointed out that there are significant improvements in the yields of farms under the new programme. Records showed that yields increased by 15 percent with new hybrid seeds.

The use of hybrid seeds or the open pollinated variety contributed to the increase in production, Palma said. Other measures such as integrated pest management and the farmer's field school gave farmers access to the latest technologies in farming that further boosted production.

The corn production areas are now divided into clusters to provide easy access for technicians to reach out to the farmers. Each cluster consists a minimum of 200 hectares to a maximum of 400.

Palma also said that hybrid seeds will be distributed to farmers at a subsidised rate and the local government will be encouraged to provide loans to farmers who are using such technology.