Lack of drying facilities reduces MP corn income

 By Gina Dizon

PARACELIS, Mountain Province -- Lack of corn drying equipment decreased income of farmers here due to lessened quality of corn produce brought about by decreased drying of corn kernels during the rainy season.

Here in this corn producing municipality adjacent the commercial town of  Santiago Isabela,  the lack of corn drying facilities and mechanical dryers has resulted to reduced corn quality  with corn seeds  getting black.

Rogelio Ngafitna, corn coordinator here in the office of the municipal agriculturist said the cost of corn per kilo gets to as low as half the price per kilo during the rainy season from July to December.   Corn gets down to as low as P6.00 per kilo during the rainy season.  Paracelis grows corn in two cropping seasons – January to June and July to December.

There are some 15 drying pavements in 115 sitios of the nine barangays of Paracelis, reports from the agricultural office revealed. Apart from drying pavements, farmers make use of basketball courts and highways to dry their corn produce due to lack of drying facilities. Corn is heavily produced in the barangays of Butigue, Palitud, Bananaw, Bantay, and Anonat, Poblacion, Bacarri and some in the highlands of Bunut nearby Kalinga province. 

Vice chairman of the federation of  farmer associations of  Paracelis  Inocencio Bayangan said  corn  farmers need  mechanical dryers   especially  during the  rainy season that   corn produce cannot be  brought out for drying.  

Corn farming is the major source of livelihood of nearly 5,000 farmers here apart from rice farming. There are 7,410 hectares planted mostly to yellow corn harvested in two croppings- June and December. The harvest is sold to feed millers of nearby Santiago and Roxas markets in nearby Isabela province.

Apart from the lack of corn drying pavements and equipment, high costs of production inputs particularly that of hybrid seeds and fertilizers bug farmers here.

Municipal agriculturist   EusebiaBalocnit  said a corn farmer can  only get  a  net  income  of  P 7,000 to P8,000 income  following  five months of  corn farming.  The problem: corn seeds and labor inputs costs almost 85% of the total costs of production.

A case study computation revealed  here at the office of the municipal  agriculturist  noted that  a P43,000  total cost of a five month production of corn  on a one  hectare  farm yields  P7,000 pesos net income after expenses are deducted.

Of the P43,000 total production costs, seeds cost P10,000 plus urea and side dressing of   commercial fertilizers costing to some 7,500 pesos.   

Other costs  incurred  are that of  labor  and transportation fees  composing  50 percent  of  the  total cost of  farming expense. 

What remains for household use from the investment provided is a measly amount upon sale of the harvest roughly amounting to 700 to 800 pesos a month for domestic needs as food, and medicine. With the highly low turnout of capital and investment returns, a question of how the farmers’ children go to school is a pending concern.

With this measly net return, farmers resort to borrowing capital from cooperatives that along the vicious cycle of loaning resulted to some lands used for collateral eventually taken by some loaning cooperatives. Farmers also  resort to individuals  who loan  money for the cost of  fertilizers and  hybrid seeds and getting  as much as 30%  interest for  the  cost of  production inputs  loaned to the  farmer.  

What alternative do the P5, 000 plus corn farmers have over a highly exploitative system of corn farming? 

Balocnit  forwards crop diversification.  She wants farmers to plant vegetables along with corn to include eggplants and legumes and not only corn. She noticed that a number of farmers plant only corn. 

Municipal  agriculturist  Luthgarda Fangonon also introduces  planting of bananas and  fruit trees apart from corn farming to let  farmers add more farm produce and not be dependent on corn farming. 

Ngafitna  is emphatic about promoting organic farming with the use of organic fertilizers. The provision of trainings on organic farming shall lessen the dependency of farmers on commercial fertilizers and commercially grown seeds, he said.