Cagayan Valley has sustained its status as the country’s number one producer of corn and second to Central Luzon in rice, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Region 2 office said.
Roberto Busania, regional technical director for operations, said Cagayan Valley has produced a total of 1.9 million metric tons of corn, contributing 25 percent of the total corn production nationwide, making the region the consistent top producer of corn in the country.
He said the region also produced a total of 2.9 million metric tons of palay (unmilled rice), making it second to the high output of Central Luzon or Region 3.
"The majority of the corn farmers plant yellow corn, a raw material used in the production of animal feeds while some produce white corn for human consumption," Busania said.
The DA official also said that Isabela province, particularly the City of Ilagan, remains the biggest contributor to corn production in the region, followed by Cagayan province.
On rice production, Busania said the Agriculture department continuously develops and introduces improved varieties to help boost farmers’ production and income and to contribute to the food sufficiency agenda of the government.
“Region 2 is self-sufficient by 294 percent on rice. We have a surplus that is being transported to the National Capital Region, especially in the Metro Manila area, and in Region 3,” he said.
Busania also said DA is implementing the Farm and Fisheries Consolidation and Clustering (F2C2) program, which seeks to advance the interest and condition of small farmers and fishers by encouraging them to organize into groups or cooperatives, and to adopt systems to increase their production.
“With this program, we assist farmer cooperatives from land preparation up to marketing. The objective of the program is to increase production, have higher incomes for the farmers, and provide better access to resources, technologies, and markets,” he added.
Aside from this, Busania said they have provided various assistance to over a hundred farmer cooperatives in the region, including the construction of rural infrastructure such as farm-to-market roads, irrigation systems, postharvest facilities, storage, processing, and marketing facilities, in partnership with the private sector, concerned agencies, and local government units.
With the assistance and new technologies being introduced by the Agriculture department, Busania is optimistic that rice and corn production in Cagayan Valley will further increase next year.
