BINALONAN, Pangasinan—On strategic edges of the asphalted MacArthur Highway in this Ilocos town, some 193 kms north of Manila, hawkers of freshly harvested corn ears make a tourist sight when the monsoon is over.
Some motorists—either those returning to the metropolis or those going up north, primarily the far northwest Ilocos Norte province—stop for some hairy clusters to be boiled home a few hours later.
The highway corn hawkers here, like those in the other towns of Pozorrubio, Sison due north or even Urdaneta and Villasis south of here take comfort in the return on investments they make during the day.
Much like their cousins in the Visayas and Mindanao, who also sell either the fresh harvest or those already boiled of the yellow sweet corn variety, which fetches a high price in the south as well as in the north of the country.
In some barangays of Cebu City, for instance, corn farmers sell their harvest at least P30 per kilo from the farm. In Metro Manila, sweet corn retailed at shopping malls sells for, at the very least, as much as P30 per cob.
Agriculture sources say there is an increasing demand for sweet corn. Fact is, they say the Philippines, a basically agricultural economy, remains an importer of corn in canned and frozen forms.
Farm experts say the production period for corn is relatively short. In 65 to 75 days, the crop could be harvested, depending on the variety.
In Metro Manila, big cans are seen in markets—like those at the Quinta market in Quiapo and even the Nepa-Q Mart in Quezon City and even in the eastern towns like Cainta and Taytay—with hundreds of corn ears steaming hot ready for the taking by ambulant vendors who shuffle feet in offices like those at the government’s broadcast complex.
Sources say the growers who supply the Manila market are found in Pampanga, especially the low-lying town of Lubao where some 350 hectares are devoted to this crop in just one barangay.
The sources add there is also an increasing number of growers in Bulacan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna and Quezon.
In this second class town, verdant with corn fields and rice plants when the rains are gone, residents have since been upbeat following the inauguration of a modern, if state-of-the art, seed processing plant in Sumabnit, one of 24 barangays.
The plant is expected to boost corn production in the country, provide livelihood to farmers and workers, and save precious dollars for the Philippines.
It could also earn foreign exchange in the near future, according to official sources.
This is the $ 8-million seed processing facility of Syngenta, one of the giant multinational companies engaged in developing and distributing various agricultural inputs like crop protection chemicals and improved crop seeds.
While the processing plant could process various crop seeds, the main focus is the processing of Bt corn seeds.
This is the so-called biotech crop which offers several advantages for the farmers.
Sources say this is able to protect itself from the frightful destructive corn borer, which means the corn farmer can save a lot on expensive chemical spray.
Because the corn plants don’t have to be sprayed, the Bt corn does not harm the environment, making the produce environment friendly, according to residents and experts in Bt corn seeds.
More than a decade back, following a rigidly accurate or precise testing by regulatory bodies, Bt corn was approved for commercial production in the Philippines.
From that point, Bt corn has become a favorite of corn farmers because besides requiring no pesticide to protect the plants from corn borer, it is also high-yielding.
One hectare, according to some sources, could yield 8 metric tons or more. The ears are big and uniform under favorable conditions.
Official sources say 50 to 70 percent of the corn farms in Pangasinan are now devoted to Bt corn, adding no less than 4,000 hectares are planted to corn each year in the province, surrounded by La Union, Tarlac, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales.
They say the processing plant could process no less than 2,000 metric tons of seeds per year.
At the seeding rate of 18 to 20 kilos per hectare, the 2,000 tons of seeds are enough to plant no less than 100,000 hectares, the sources add.
In the meantime, tourists – local and foreign – who drive through the MacArthur Highway continue to be jabbed along the road by peddlers of the sweet corn variety.