THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has announced that the country has achieved a 103-percent self-sufficiency in yellow corn production last year, the first in more than two decades.
Quoting a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said gross yellow corn output in 2017 reached 5.811 million metric tons (MMT), which translated to a net local production of 5.749 MMT at a 1.07-percent postharvest loss. This, Piñol noted, was 3.3 percent higher, or 189,000 metric tons (MT) more, than the 5.560 MT total yellow corn demand last year.
“This is the first time in the history of the corn industry that Filipino farmers produced more yellow corn than the local demand with prices at record high at P15 to P16 per kilo at farm gate,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
The agriculture chief said the PSA report was validated by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, the Livestock Development Council and the Philippine Maize Federation.
“Including white corn, which is the staple food in many Mindanao and Eastern Visayas provinces, the total production for 2017 was 7,914,817 MT which was almost 700,000 MT higher than the 2016 production of 7,218,817 MT,” Piñol said.
PSA data showed that the closest year and the last time the Philippines achieved a 100-percent self-sufficiency in yellow corn was in 1991, at 100.43 percent.
Piñol said total corn area harvested last year grew 2.74 percent to 2.552 million hectares, from 2.484 million hectares in 2016. Meanwhile, average corn yield per hectare increased to 3.10 MT per hectare from 2.91 MT per hectare level in 2016.
“The 2017 production of 7.914 MMT and average yield of 3.10 MT per hectare are the highest on record, according to the PSA,” he said.
Piñol added the hike in yellow corn output “could lead to a more vibrant livestock industry,” while increased white corn production “could further stabilize the country’s staple food supply.”
“The country has traditionally imported corn from the United States, Argentina and even Thailand, as Filipino farmers struggled with very poor production,” he said.
“With the introduction of quality corn seeds and the availability of modern technology and easy access financing, the Filipino corn farmers have been steadily increasing their production,” Piñol added.