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| Corn Model Farm at Lingayao, Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte |
Corn farming
is our way of life.
Danilo Dismar,
a farmer of Azpetia, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur said that since his childhood,
corn farming is the main source of livelihood of his family.
“When I was
still a small boy, I keep on helping my father in tilling our farm. This is a
way of life that passed on from generation to generation,” he said.
Mang Danilo
as fondly called preferred to plant white corn over yellow corn. “I preferred
to plant white corn because this is our family’s traditional food,” he said.
Mang Danilo
is the president of Azpetia Farmers Association with 65 members.
He said that
when he heard that the Department of Agriculture (DA) has a project to
establish flint type white corn model farm, he and his association members
gladly accepted to be a farmer-cooperators.
During August
2018 planting period, the association planted around 50 hectares of white corn
with free inputs provided by the DA. The counterpart of the cooperator is the
area to be planted and labor.
“We were not
hesitant to support the campaign of DA to promote white corn since it is our
food too, and besides we were able to sell some of our products to buyers at a reasonable
price,” he explained.
Aside from
Azpetia Farmers Association, another association in Las Nieves, Agusan del
Norte also became a recipient of the program, the Brgy. Lingayao-Maningalao
Corn Growers Association.
Nicamel
Bajao, a member of the Brgy. Lingayao -Maningalao Corn Growers Association expressed
his gratitude to DA for the project and for extending support in marketing his
produce.
“I am so
thankful to DA that aside from giving us the technology and the inputs, they
supported us in marketing our products,” he said.
In the
combined area of 100 hectares of the two model farms, a total of 52 farmers
participated and were able to harvest 423 metric tons (MT) with an average
yield of 4.5 MT per hectare and a net income of P23,850.00 per hectare.
In
2019, DA Caraga targetted additional one
site for the model farm.
“Aside from Prosperidad
and Las Nieves that will continue as model farm site, we will be establishing
another one at Tago, Surigao del Sur,” Melody Guimary, regional corn program
coordinator said.
As per guidelines, DA will provide the required seeds,
fertilizer, pest and disease control inputs as well as marketing support while
the farmer-cooperators will establish the farm of at least 50 hectares compact
area per site.
“Model farm
aims to showcase appropriate technology in producing white corn to serve as
learning sites for other farmers,” Guimary explained.
Establishing a white corn model farm is one way of
promoting white corn consumption, in support of Rice Corn Blend (RCB) Campaign.
Filipinos are encouraged to eat corn, either pure or blend it to rice at their
preferred ratio whether 30:70, 50:50 or 70:30 corn to rice mixture.
Corn is rich in vitamins and minerals and known for
its low glycemic index which is good for diabetics.
Glycemic index is a numeric scale used to indicate how
fast and how high a particular food can raise a person’s blood glucose or blood
sugar level. (Aurelius P. Arais/DA Caraga)
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