 |
| Turn-over of key of responsibility with DA RED Edna Mabeza and Mayor Rosales |
To
help corn farmers attain premium quality of their produce, the Department of
Agriculture Caraga turned-over another Village Type Corn Postharvest Processing
Center to the farmers through the local government unit of Las Nieves, Agusan
del Norte last June 1, 2016.
The
second unit established in the said town and third in the region, the Village
Type Corn Postharvest Processing Center situated in Brgy. Pinana-an, is a
modern drying and shelling facility worth P3.5 million pesos and has a capacity
of processing 10 tons of corn.
The
facility will process either freshly harvested corn in cob or shelled kernels
that need further drying just for a very minimal fee.
DA
Caraga Regional Director Edna Mabeza said that modern drying facility helps to
eliminate poor quality of corn that may pose health hazard to human and animal
due to aflatoxin.
“There
are reports based on laboratory test results that some areas are having high
aflatoxin level of corn produce which primarily means delayed drying after
harvesting,” she said.
According
to corn quality parameter, aflatoxin level of corn for feed purposes must not
exceed the tolerable limit of 50 parts per billion (pbb) and for human
consumption of not more than 20 pbb.
Las
Nieves Mayor Avelina Rosales extended her gratitude to DA Caraga for supporting
their corn farmers and vowed to implement measures to ensure sustainability of
the project.
“I
am urging the farmers to help maintain the facility because it is a
multi-million peso project from the government and be cooperative on the policy
that we are going to implement to make this project sustainable,” she said.
Aside
from corn, the facility is also designed to dry palay thus making it more
advantageous for the farmers.
The
first Village Type Corn Postharvest Processing Center funded through DA is
located at Brgy. Tiniwisan, Butuan City, followed by at Brgy. Malicato of Las
Nieves and the third is the recently turned-over.
More
of this kind is on the pipeline for completion in various parts of the region
implemented under AgriPinoy Corn Program. (Aurelius P. Arais/DA Caraga)
=-###-=
