The Department of Trade and Industry Region 2 (DTI R2) teamed up with the city government of Ilagan, Isabela to embark on a two-day business mission to Thailand to bolster Ilagan’s standing as the corn capital of the Philippines,
The mission aimed to explore further mechanization and development opportunities for the city’s corn industry.
Ilagan is a major contributor to corn production in the Philippines with a record of 155,767,000 kilograms of corn produced per cropping season.
This translates into 2.07 percent of the national corn production and 13.92 percent of Isabela province’s output. With 33 percent of its land dedicated to agriculture, the city’s local government is actively pursuing initiatives to transform corn production into a sustainable and lucrative enterprise for its residents, especially local farmers.
Ilagan City Mayor Josemarie Diaz, together with officials from DTI R2, joined the mission from May 30 to 31.
The itinerary included visits to renowned private companies and government-operated facilities in Thailand, known for their advanced machinery and export-quality corn products. The visit aimed to assess the feasibility of integrating Thai technologies into Ilagan City’s existing infrastructure.
The delegation’s first stop was at the National Corn and Sorghum R&D Center at Kasetsart University, where they learned about the latest advancements in maize and sorghum production. These insights are expected to enhance corn farming quality and efficiency in Ilagan City.
They also visited the Thai Danish Dairy Farm, a key player in the dairy industry under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ Farming Promotion Organization. This provided them with knowledge instrumental in formulating policies and government interventions to maximize production in Ilagan’s dairy sector.
The first-day visit concluded with a tour of the Hualam Collective Farm-Corn Silage Group, which boasts a 40 to 50-ton daily production capacity being exported to Japan, Qatar, Korea and China. Inspired by this success, the team envisioned Ilagan local farmers scaling their operations to produce export-quality products.
The delegation also visited KU Beef and River Kwai on the second day, private facilities specializing in meat and corn processing that uphold high export standards.
The state-of-the-art technologies and processes in these facilities hold the potential to influence policy and intervention strategies aimed at propelling Ilagan City’s local production.
The visit builds on previous initiatives, including DTI R2’s visit to the Hualam Collective Farm in 2022. This encouraged DTI R2 to form a technical working group and explore opportunities in export-quality corn silage production in Ilagan City.
