GMA Corn Program to Benefit Farmers

Source from:  sunstar.com.ph 12/12/2005

SINCE the enactment of the Tobacco Regulation Act in June 2003, the Department of Agriculture offered tobacco farmers the option to promote the crop. Farmers were also given the option to promote and shift to corn with the launching of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) for Corn program, which focuses on food security and poverty alleviation. It allows local government units and other stakeholders to develop and manage their own corn production plans and programs suitable for their respective localities. Agriculture regional executive director for Southern Mindanao Roger Chio said as the second most important crop in the Philippines, corn is processed into high-value products like cornstarch and corn oil. Fifty-four percent of the total corn production comes from yellow corn. About 12 million Filipinos, meanwhile, prefer white corn as their main staple. The overall goal of GMA for Corn program is to increase productivity and production of quality corn for human consumption, feeds and industrial uses, as well as improve farmers' incomes and quality of life. One of the specific objectives is to increase farmers' incomes and improve the quality of life and increase adoption of the yellow corn hybrid technology. Four hybrid yellow corn varieties -- NSIC 2002-138, 139, 140 and 141 -- have already been tested in some planting areas in Ilocos Norte. The hybrid varieties were said to be resistant to stalk rot and earthworm, and mature in about 105 to 107 days during the dry season and in 100 to 102 days during wet season. With the continuous rise in corn planting, the agriculture sector is expecting an increase in the production of corn. Enditem