Corn sector expected to post slight growth this year

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is projecting that the corn sub-sector will grow 1.63 percent, generating a total production of 7.041 million metric tons (MT) this year in spite of the negative impact of climate change on domestic crop production.

Although first semester corn production was 3.22 million MT or 2.27 percent lower than last year’s 3.29 million MT, output for the year’s second half is projected to increase 5.16 percent to 3.82 million MT.

Director Romeo Recide of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) said that for the July-September period, corn production surpassed last year’s output by 5.17 percent from 2.26 million MT to 2.37 million MT, largely due to the expansion of harvest areas and the improvement in per-hectare yields.

Assistant Secretary Dennis B. Araullo said that the adjustment by the National Food Authority (NFA) of the corn support price from P 11 to P 13 per kilo and increasing its procurement volume helped stabilize domestic corn prices and encouraged corn farmers to continue planting. 

Recide said harvest areas grew by 3.10 percent from 921,000 hectares to 949,000 hectares in the third quarter, with the per-hectare yield jumping by 2.01 percent from 2.45 MT to 2.5 MT per hectare.

Recide added that “in spite of the damages caused by tropical storm Ondoy and typhoons Pepeng, Ramil and Santi, the standing crop for the October-December 2009 period points to a production gain of 5.15 percent from last year’s level of 1.38 million MT to 1.45 million MT.”

For this period, Recide said the expected harvest area may expand 0.51 percent from 604,000 hectares to 607,000 hectares while yield may improve by 4.61 percent from 2.29 MT per hectare to 2.39 MT/ha.

Recide said there were significant corn production increases in Cagayan Valley , Northern Mindanao, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) during the year’s third quarter.

For the July-September period, corn output in Cagayan Valley increased by 13.42 percent or an additional 75,390 MT; in Northern Mindanao , 18.42 percent or 75,320 MT; and ARMM, 15.2 percent or 35,020 MT.

Recide said for the last quarter of the year, production in ARMM is expected to grow by 21.9 percent or 57,200 MT due to the massive plantings in idle and forest lands and in areas damaged by typhoons Jolina and Kiko,  which led to the expansion in harvest area by 31.42 percent or 23,880 hectares.

“These developments were encouraged by the seeds distribution by the DA-Local Funding Program and the Ceremonial Seeds Distribution of 700 bags of open-pollinated varieties (OPV) white corn last June 12,” Recide said.

 Recide noted that there would also be a remarkable increase in corn production in Cagayan Valley in the October-December period by 52.65 percent or 53,070 MT as harvest area may expand by 58.73% or 16,570 hectares due to plantings of in-fallow and newly opened areas.