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SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Another batch of corn farmers numbering to about 1,259 from Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur provinces received P3,000 each in fuel discount from the Department of Agriculture-Ilocos Region on Sept. 9, Sept. 12, and Sept 13.

More than 126,000 corn farmers and fisherfolk have been allocated with the government’s Fuel Discount for Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (FDFFP), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Tuesday, Aug. 9.

Bayer Crop Science (BSC), a subsidiary of German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company Bayer AG, has released a new genetically modified corn hybrid seeds in the Philippines which can result in higher yields and income for farmers.

Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (PAFMI) sees importation as a band aid solution or the “the best route to take” at the moment as Severe Tropical Storm Maring destroyed a significant amount of corn output.

Corn farmers recorded a staggering revenue loss of about P10 billion due low farm-gate prices, prompting the filing of a House Resolution seeking to junk the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) proposal to temporarily lower import tariff on the main staple.

Amid lack of government support, the Philippines has been slacking in corn production. The situation has gone so bad that importation has already become a necessity.

Some of the hybrid corn varieties of German multinational pharmaceutical firm Bayer AG have yielded 8.3 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha) in a government-led farm competition held in Asturias, the biggest corn-production town in Cebu.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has granted more than P723,000 worth of assistance to corn farmers in conflict-vulnerable area in Zamboanga del Norte.