DIPOLOG CITY, Sept. 19 (PIA) - The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG) in Zamboanga del Norte is set to launch the "Mais Binhian sa Barangay Program" as announced by provincial agriculturist, Maybel Bustaliño.
She came up with the said program from the observed increase in the prices of farm inputs or farming needs such as seeds, fertilizers, and many others, not just in the province but throughout the country.
Under the said program, the province will create or utilize a farm that will function as the source of corn seeds, which will be used by farmers in partnership with different local government units, including city and municipal agriculturist offices in the province.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that data from 2018 to 2021, an average of 39,167.6 hectares of farmland in Zamboanga del Norte planted with corn produced 53,998.62 tons, or 1.38 metric tons per hectare. And 35,862.85 hectares of this, which was planted with white corn, recorded an average production of 49,368.73 metric tons, equivalent to 1.38 metric tons per hectare.
Yellow corn planted on 3,304 hectares has an average production of 4,629.89 metric tons, equivalent to 2.12 metric tons per hectare.
The "Mais Binhian sa Barangay Program" is a project component of the Agricultural Extension Program, a localized seed banking and exchange program. (RVC/EDT/LMR-GIP/PIA Zamboanga del Norte/with reports from PIC Zamboanga del Norte)
