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Vice-presidential aspirant Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said the Team Robredo-Pangilinan (TROPA) would stop the syndicates behind the importation and smuggling of agriculture products that is killing the livelihood of Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.

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.

The Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (PAFMI) has raised concern over insufficient local corn production and is urging the government and local producers to address the urgent need to ensure reliability and consistency of supply in the country.

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.

The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) move to consider slashing the tariff on corn imports coming from non-ASEAN countries was lambasted by a group of farmers.

About 460,000 Filipino farming families have so far gained higher after adopting genetically modified (GM) corn, a study showed.

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 Philippines is seen producing less of its two main staples, rice and corn, this year, resulting in more importation, data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed.

The persistence of African Swine Fever (ASF) did not only affect the Philippines’ hog production. Corn production, too, is now reeling from the impact of the dreaded animal virus.

Carl Barnes was a half-Cherokee Oklahoma farmer who passed away in 2016. But his life was one well-lived. In hopes of connecting with his Native American roots, Barnes managed to grow a multi-colored corn variety now known as Glass Gem corn. 

Corn plants are typically grown in the fields. They are planted in rows that are usually two to three feet away from each other. But in the case of Nicole Obligacion, an urban gardener from Pasig, she grows them in raised beds on her balcony.

The Philippines’ Tariff Commission (TC) has set a public hearing on wide ranging product categories totaling 37 tariff lines, including rice, corn, cars, motor vehicle parts, chemicals, and cement imported from Thailand which tariff concessions may be suspended in retaliation to Thailand’s refusal to align the cigarette tax it imposed on Philippine tobacco.

The Department of Agriculture (DA-7) has equipped farmers in Negros Oriental with trainings on production and marketing for cacao, corn, cassava and hybrid rice to enhance their skills and knowledge on new farming technologies for sustainable income and livelihood from agriculture.

The Department of Agriculture (DA-7) with the Cebu Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO), Local Government Unit (LGU) of Asturias, Cebu and Virginia Farms Incorporated conducted the corn varietal derby in Asturias town in Cebu 1st week of December this year to showcase corn production of various corn varieties.

With its vast fertile land, the municipality of Asturias in western Cebu is aiming to remain a top corn producer in the province as it targets to cater to the high demand of yellow corn, which is a main ingredient in producing animal feeds.

More than seven hundred corn farmers who have graduated from a radio corn production course last year are now practicing the scientific method of farming, a report from the Leyte governor’s office said here today.