This is the inspiring output of the labors of the “993 Farmer’s Association” in Barangay 993 in Alamada, Cotabato in the group's 2ndcorn cropping, with the full assistance of the Special Area for Agriculture Development (SAAD) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA). It’s an outstanding lesson in public-private cooperation in farming.
The report is by Jennifer Valcobero (17 Dec 2021, “Cotabato Corn Farmers Earn P4.1M From Second Cropping[1],” saad.da.gov.ph). The harvest was from 28 Nov to 05 Dec by the 25-member group farming 25 ha of corn.
Association President Nelly Eulogio said:
I’m so grateful to SAAD for reaching our far-flung area and lending their help and sustaining our needs, for the assistance they have given to our association. Because of SAAD intervention, our association earned a huge income from the yields we got from planting corn that the SAAD has shared with us.
Mr Eulogio also said that “he was able to reconstruct his house and help his grandchildren pay for their school fees through his P300,000 share (of) the income.”
Group member Rowin Eulogio said:
SAAD changed our lives. Before, I couldn’t even send my kids to school due to (lack of) financial support. (After) I became the beneficiary of SAAD projects, I successfully got a higher yield in planting corn. It helped me pay my debts, sustain my family needs, and pay my kids’ school fees.
How important is corn in the Philippines? According to ANN (Author Not Named, 22 Dec 2021, Rfo3.da.gov.ph)
Corn is the second most important crop in the Philippines. About 14 million Filipinos prefer white corn as their main staple, and yellow corn accounts for about 50% of livestock mixed feeds. Some 600,000 farm households depend on corn as a major source of livelihood,
In the Philippines, we usually look at corn as the staple food of poorer Filipinos. We were not poor, but when I was young, during lean months, that is, in-between rice harvests, my father (he was the cook) would mix corn with rice for a meal – and I found it delicious!
For the Cotabato corn farmer details, Ms Jennifer says:
From November 28 to December 5, the group with 25 members harvested 2,848 sacks of corn, weighing 209,753 kilograms (from a) 25-hectare corn (field)… After deducting the (costs of) hauling, drying, and other expenses, the group arrived at a net income of P2.8 million [higher (than) from their 1st cropping of P1.5 million].
That 2nd income is almost 2 times higher than the 1st! The data tells me that DA’s financial and technical assistances work like magic when farmers work together and do their best.
When government singularly assist farmers to assist themselves mutually, millions happen!@517
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