Top 30 corn farmers awarded

Thirty farmers, four of them women, have been honored as the country’s top hybrid corn growers.

They were cited by Pioneer Hi-Bred Philippines, Inc., whose mother agency, the Pioneer Hybrid International, Inc., is the world’s largest producer and distributor of high quality hybrid corn.

In a fitting program held in Pasig City not long ago, Pioneer (a DuPont company) also presented citations to research scientists and administrators, individuals who have played key roles in the introduction of biotechnology crops to farmers, mass media practitioners, and those who have contributed immensely to community development and success in the country’s corn farming sector.

The top 30 hybrid corn farmers were selected out of hundreds of nominees from all over the country based on their "levels" of progressiveness and willingness to adopt new technologies in corn farming, influence in the community, and willingness to help their fellow farmers.

Of the awardees, 14 were from Luzon and the rest from Mindanao.

The farmers from Luzon were Edgar de Luna, Joselito Ortiz, Emilio Padiron, Johnny Cabansag, Pedro Collado, Lydia Hilario, Nestor Dumaliang, Jose Pepe Uy, and Denio Espe, all of Isabela; Romeo Villanueva, Mamerto Pega, both of Pangasinan; Carlos Guevarra, of Pampanga; Pedro Hailar, of Tarlac; and Jaime Calumpit, of Ifugao.

The awardees from Mindanao were Ma. Catalina Mirafuentes, Augusto Hechanova, Arnold Gomez, Gerardo Navarro, all of South Cotabato; Rodolfo Abas, Edwin Peruelo, Rene Subrejuanite, Francisco Bacus, all of Bukidnon; Angelito Rivera, Jhonny Barreto, Leopoldo Pedrano, all of North Cotabato; Felina Balasoto, Wilfredo Catalan, Bernardo De Otoy, all of Lanao del Sur; Ibrahim Maluag, and Noroden Abdul Lumbatan, both in Maguindanao.

The outstanding farmers have been producing eight to 10.75 tons per hectare out of the hybrid and genetically modified corn which they have been planting. This is much more than double the national average corn yield of about 3.5 t/ha.

Four were also cited for their "individual outstanding contributions and leadership towards the introduction of hybrid corn in the Philippines."

They were former Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban, now head of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC); Dr. Emil Q. Javier, former University of the Philippines (UP) president and founder of the UP Los Baños-Institute of Plant Breeding, now president of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST); Dr. Ricardo Lantica, also former UPLB-IPB director and Science and Technology undersecretary; and Dr. Samuel Dalmacio, a noted plant breeder. – Rudy A. Fernandez