PILAR, CEBU -- Shift to planting yellow corn, as it is in-demand, the Capitol will extend technical aid, and financial aid will be provided by lending institutions.
This was the gist of Gov. Gwen Garcia’s offer to at least 450 land owners and farmers of this town who converged at the municipal gym during a consultative assembly on May 21.
It was also attended by Mayor Manuel Santiago and members of the municipal council, as well as Board Member Red Duterte. Officials from the Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) were also present.
Pilar and the entire Camotes LGUs are fit for planting yellow corn, which could be cultivated all year round with minimal need for irrigation.
To double down on her offer, the governor brought along lending institutions Land Bank of the Philippines, which offers a 2% interest rate, and Cooperative Bank of Cebu, which has zero interest rate.
Farmers who are interested to borrow capital from these institutions will be endorsed by the Capitol for faster processing of applications and releasing of loans through the Capitol’s Enhanced Countryside Development or ECD program.
Gov. Garcia also presented to the farmers representatives from firms that require yellow corn as raw material. The representatives committed to buying all the yellow corn that farmers here can harvest, giving them an assurance of ready buyers of their corn products.
According to the data by the Provincial Agriculture Office, at least 20 institutional buyers who have partnered with the Capitol had an accumulated demand for yellow corn at 426,400 metric tons per year.
Such institutional buyers include Purefoods Corp., Universal Feed Mill Corp., San Miguel Foods Corp., Vienovo Philippines Inc., General Milling Corp., Pilmico Feeds, and Central Visayas Pork Producers Cooperative, among many others. They use corn in manufacturing feeds, chips, and other products.
However, of the figure, Cebu can only supply less than 1 per cent, forcing these huge industrial firms to sources their yellow corn requirements from other provinces such as in Mindanao.
Moreover, the governor also pledged the Capitol’s continued assistance for the farmers who would shift to planting yellow corn, such as technical aid to be provided by the Provincial and Municipal Agriculture Offices.
And if they shall have reached a sizable number, then the Capitol shall put up drying facilities in Pilar, similar to four post-harvest facilities being put up in Medellin that are each capable of drying 15 metric tons of corn kernel every ten hours — or 30 metric tons per 24-hour operation cycle.
And to top it all off, the governor said the Capitol will also shoulder the insurance premium of yellow corn plants in an insurance program with the PCIC.
“Akong hagit ninyo, lihok mo. Paningkamot gyod mo. Kay ako maningkamot sad ko nga monindot inyong kinabuhi,” Gov. Garcia said, urging the farmers to seize the opportunity and work diligently towards a brighter future.
The program, called Sugbo Maisan, was first introduced in Medellin in 2022 after sugarcane has become no longer viable for the northern Cebu LGU. | JT