Since the enactment of Republic Act 7171 or the Tobacco Regulation Act on June 2003, the Department of Agriculture has offered tobacco farmers the option to promote the said crop.

Farmers were also given the option to promote and shift to corn with the launching of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani for Corn program (GMA for Corn program) which focuses on food security and poverty alleviation.

It allows local government units and other stakeholders to develop and manage their own corn production plans and programs suitable in their respective localities.

Agriculture XI regional executive director Roger Chio said the second most important crop in the Philippines, corn is processed into high-value products such as cornstarch and corn oil.

Fifty-four percent of the total corn production comes from yellow corn. About 12-million Filipinos, meanwhile, prefer white corn as their main staple.

The overall goal of GMA for Corn program is to increase productivity and production of quality corn for human consumption, feeds and industrial uses, as well as improve farmers' incomes and quality of life.

One of the specific objectives is to increase farmers' incomes and improve the quality of life and increase adoption of the yellow corn hybrid technology.

Four hybrid yellow corn varieties - NSIC 2002-138, 139, 140 and 141 - have already been tested in some planting areas in Ilocos Norte. The hybrid varieties were said to be resistant to stalk rot and earthworm, and mature in about 105 to 107 days during the dry season and in 100 to 102 days during wet season.

With the continuous rise in corn planting, the agriculture sector is expecting an increase in the production of corn.

By Rose Palacio