Philippine Maize Federation (PhilMaize) vice president and Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Council (RAFC) chairman Isidro Acosta has been tapped as chairman of the 22nd Agrilink International Trade Exhibit, slated on October 15 to 17 to be held at World Trade Center Manila.
As a corn farmer, he cited the success of Cagayan Valley’s corn production has increased to 1.857 million metric tons, contributing 24% of the country’s total corn output as of last year. The growth is driven by the promotion of yield-boosting and cost-reducing technologies such as hybrid corn seeds currently being subsidized and implemented by the DA’s Cagayan Valley Research Center (CVRC); expansion of corn planting into idle and new arable land; investment in postharvest facilities and farm mechanization technologies to increase production, reduce losses and improve quality; and development of linkages to create a competitive and sustainable market for the corn industry.
Acosta’s expertise will help provide entrepreneurs, stakeholders, and consumers a better understanding of how regional agribusiness development can improve our supply and value chains as well as address the increasingly changing consumer demand and the new technologies needed to keep our agricultural products globally competitive. “The regional agribusiness development approach to Cagayan Valley’s corn industry creates a competitive advantage where it brings cohesiveness into the various corn development initiatives from the government and private sectors. Some of these include the continuous implementation of the DA’s farm machinery program through the provision of equipment such as four-wheel drive tractors and implements for land preparation, planters and multi-crop combine harvesters, as well as infrastructure support through the Cagayan Valley Integrated Agricultural Laboratory, One Stop Shop Agribusiness Center, Agribusiness Development Centers and Agri-Pinoy Trading Centers, which also provide marketing assistance to farmers and cooperatives. Moreover, Region II corn farmers lead in mechanized land preparation. There is also increasing investment on processing, value-adding and storage facilities. The Mindanao Grains Processing Center in Reina Mercedes, Isabela, for instance, is the biggest in Southeast Asia,” Acosta said during an interview.
Aside from having 11 private feed manufacturers, plans are under-way to establish multi-commodity corn processing plants which can produce by-products such as corn flakes, oil, flour and grits. These can also create unique value-added products such as Gourmix, a rice and corn-based instant food developed by CVRC. In addition, the DA has provided accreditation and certification on Good Agricultural Practices for 118 corn, rice and mango farmers in Nueva Vizcaya to ensure high quality and competitive products. The region is also planning to establish commercial swine, poultry, livestock, cattle and dairy production and processing facilities, whose components include forage development, breeding management, disease prevention and control, animal health and reproductive management.
No comments:
Post a Comment