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Archives
February 1-28, 2007
RP to attain corn sufficiency in 2008
by Rita T. dela Cruz
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| DA Assistant Secretary Dennis B. Araullo |
The Philippines can attain self-sufficiency in corn in 2008. This was the optimistic projection made by Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dennis B. Araullo, concurrent director of the Department of Agriculture (DA) GMA Corn Program during the “Corn R&D Annual Review and Planning Workshop” conducted by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) at the Conference Room, National Seed Quality Control Services (NSQCS), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Diliman, Quezon City on 21 February 2007.
The workshop was held to review and evaluate the accomplishments of the corn RDE program nationwide and to plan the implementation of corn R&D projects for 2007.
Coping with the demand for feed grain
Corn is an important crop in the Philippines both as a livestock feed and a staple food, as well as a raw material for starches and sugars used in food processing and other industries.
Over the years, the government has been keen in making an effort to supply the farmers with cheap, high-quality seeds. However, due to global competition for increased production and the overwhelming superiority of hybrids developed in Western countries that continue to dominate the world corn seed markets. This placed the country in an awkward status.
The Philippines is one of the 11 developing countries and one of the first countries in Asia to provide and adopt genetically modified (GM) crops. Although there has been an increase in production, the demand for corn is still high. Even though the country is considered a major producer, 20 percent of feed corn is still imported.
The demand for feed grains has been increasing over the past decade, owing to the growth of the domestic livestock industry. This higher demand has been chiefly answered with an increase in imports.
Corn as a priority in R&D
Corn is one of the priority commodities under Goal 1 of the Department of Agriculture’s Twin Goals. This is along with other high value commercial crops (HVCC) such as mango, vegetables, sugar, abaca, corn, livestock, and fisheries. The twin goals of DA are: 1) identify and pursue agribusiness development of two million hectares of agriculture and fisheries areas; and 2) reduce costs of wage goods through productivity enhancement, more efficient logistics, and improved retailing linkage.
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| Participants during Corn R&D Annual Review and Planning Workshop. |
As such, corn is also a priority commodity for Research and Development (R&D) for 2004-2010 of BAR, being the DA’s national coordinator for research and development in agriculture and fisheries.
The Bureau has released funding support to DA-Regional Field Units (RFUs) and to the Regional Integrated Agricultural Research Centers (RIARCs) for the specific conduct and implementation of corn R&D projects.
Comprehensive R&D program
Assistant Secretary Araullo said that in order to attain sustainability in corn production, the country must have a comprehensive corn R&D programs. He emphasized that the problem often lies in the implementation of projects. He underlined the importance of profitability to the corn stakeholders. Performance measure of corn projects must also focus on the farmers’ income (i.e. did it improve their lives or not?).
He also mentioned that the industry is mostly focus on the yellow corn. He challenged the R&D sector to also give attention to white corn. Information such as where does the country's supply for white corn goes, specifically on production, distribution, usage, surplus, and other studies.
“The corn sector must be tied up with the livestock sector,” Asec Araullo said. This is because the livestock sector is the number one market of the corn industry.
To date, 28 corn projects have been funded by BAR since its inception in April 2006. These projects include: 11 projects on seed systems, 12 projects on fertilizer trials, and 5 projects on post production and marketing systems and other areas.
After 10 months of implementation, these projects were assessed to evaluate their performance and status.
The review is critical in providing the necessary information on whether the corn sector is going on the right direction and is tracking successful key points that could be used for future activities and directions for this year’s strategies and implementations. 
February 1-28 2007 Articles:
:: BAR, PhilRice, SEARCA boost RP agri through systematic analysis of productivity growth
:: DA sets 10 priority commodities for 2007 Philippine agri and fishery
:: ACAP ensures support to DA programs
:: Program leader of USDA’s RDE agency visits BAR for possible R&D collaboration
:: BAR sets 2007 National and Regional technology Forums
:: DA-BAR, ICRISAT, and UPLB sign MOU for sweet sorghum project
:: Quisumbing shares key elements to establish successful research org
:: BAR sets guidelines in availing of CPAR grants
:: BAR centralizes linkage in R&D info system
:: PEN commits support to DA programs
:: BAR sets new R&D directions; focuses projects for poorest provinces
:: BAPNET in 2007: On the trail of an elusive banana killer
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