DA propagates high-yield corn seeds to cover losses

For the corn sector make up for production lost in the first three months of the year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is propagating the use of hybrid corn and genetically-modified varieties for planting. Corn farmers have started planting for the wet cropping season, prompting the DA to say that the commodity's output of may still amount to 7.2 million metric tons (MT) this year. "We will try to recover what was lost during El Niño," Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dennis Araullo said Thursday. The El Niño-induced dry spell damaged up to 500,000 of corn crops, dragging output in the first quarter down by 16.8 percent to 1.6 million MT, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. The department and its statistics bureau earlier said corn production would drop by 17 percent to 4.64 million MT in first nine months of 2010. Next to rice corn is the country’s second staple, and a basic ingredient in animal feeds production. A contraction in corn production puts pressure on the corn-based industries. The DA said it has not yet received reports from regional offices on the extent of farm damage caused by flashfloods in Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato last month. —VS, GMANews.TV