MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday urged lawmakers to allow the restoration of the National Food Authority’s (NFA) power to procure corn from local farmers.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., in a statement, underscored the need for such a move given its significance in both the poultry and livestock sectors.
“These sectors are central to the vision of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of a food-secure Philippines,” he said.
Data from the National Corn Program show yellow corn accounts for around 62 percent of poultry feeds, and the same variant accounts for around 46 percent of the feeds used for livestock.
“Corn is not just a rice substitute in the Visayas and Mindanao, it is the backbone of the country's feed production for our poultry and livestock sectors,” Tiu Laurel said.
To date, there are more than 1.1 million Filipino corn farmers in the country, but the land planted with corn is only about 2.5 million hectares.
Fair farmgate prices for farmers will be guaranteed once NFA’s procurement powers for corn are restored, especially during peak harvest in wet seasons, Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations and Agri-Fisheries Mechanization Roger Navarro said.
Aside from corn, the agriculture chief also urged lawmakers to restore NFA’s function to buy milled rice through the Rice Processing Systems (RPS), eyed also to address hikes in retail prices.
“We must make these multi-million-peso facilities work for the farmers they were meant to serve,” Tiu Laurel said. (PNA)
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