The Department of Agriculture (DA) is crafting a strategic and robust corn industry development roadmap to address the sector’s challenges and opportunities, particularly the rising demand for feeds, food, and other industrial uses.
“The corn sector, being a major input to the poultry and swine industries, should be given more importance and long-term view to ensure its sustained contribution to the meat value chain and, in general, to the Philippine food systems,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar.
He noted the roadmap should address the industry’s major challenges such as much-needed investments in mechanizing farm operations to raise productivity and setting up postharvest facilities to minimize wastage and reduce storage and milling costs, including cost-efficient logistics and transport.
“Guided by the roadmap, our ‘OneDA Family’ through the national corn program will work doubly hard to increase the average yield per hectare and attain cost-efficiencies in the corn-feed-meat value chain, making it more competitive,” Dar added.
Currently, the country’s national average yield of yellow corn is 4.18 metric tons (MT) per hectare (ha), but combined with white corn, the total average yield is reduced to merely 3.18 MT/ha. On the other hand, the average yield of hybrid corn is at least 8 MT/ha.
Corn Program Director Milo delos Reyes said the DA will focus on increasing the productivity of major corn-producing areas of the country, particularly Regions 2, 10, and 12.
It would provide clustered farms postharvest facilities to improve the quality of stored grains and reduce wastage and linking them directly to corn processors.
The ultimate aim is to increase farmers’ incomes and enhance their competitiveness by reducing the cost of corn as raw material for various uses, he said.
One of the key features that will be considered in the new roadmap will be the need for the private sector like seed producers, feed millers, and commercial feed manufacturers to engage in more joint ventures or direct marketing linkages with organized corn farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs).
The DA, through the National Banner Program Committee on Poultry, Livestock and Corn, and facilitated by the department’s Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) has consulted with the private sector, corn farmers and processors, other industry stakeholders, and consumers.
This was to craft an industry roadmap over the short-term (2021 to 2025), medium-term, (2025 to 2030), and long-term (2030 to 2040).
PCAF is the consultative arm and multi-stakeholder engagement mechanism of the “OneDA Family.” The DA expects the roadmap to be ready before the end of September 2021.
A review of past government initiatives, including the current regulatory framework of the Philippine corn industry will be included as the basis for the revised roadmap, added delos Reyes.
Among other items under review are the needed government and private sector investments in post-harvest facilities, proposed higher DA budget to directly benefit corn farmers, and an improved value chain framework.
This would highlight the contributions of other stakeholders that rely on corn as a major feed ingredient in the production of poultry, swine and aquaculture, and other products.
“The roadmap is therefore envisioned to be wholly owned by the industry, and responsive to the aspirations of corn farmers and industry stakeholders, who are dependent on this major commodity as source of livelihood, employment, and incomes,” Dar said.
