A program which will allow corn farmers to deposit their produce in Grains Silos during peak harvest season when the price is low and sell during off-harvest when the prices go up is now being designed by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) to be included in the European Union-funded Mindanao Rise Program.
The Mindanao Corn Development Program (MinDACorn) is designed to protect farmers from the exploitative buying price while ensuring steady and sustained supply of feed grains for Mindanao’s livestock and poultry industry.
MinDACorn is one of the commodity-based interventions proposed by MinDA for funding under the European Union Grant Fund of P2.1-B which was recently signed with the Department of Finance (DoF) representing the Philippine Government.
The MinDACorn Program, which I personally designed based on inputs and ideas gathered as a Rural Development specialist, involves the establishment of Grains Drying and Storage Facilities in key corn production areas of Mindanao.
It involves organizing farmers and setting good farming practices to ensure the production of high quality corn with emphasis on health concerns.
Farmers who belong to the associations could deposit their produce to the Grains Complex which will be equipped with dryers and silos for long-storage during peak harvest season when the price is very low.
The farmer will get an “advance payment” for his corn equivalent to the prevailing market and he will be given a “Quedan” paper showing the volume of corn he has deposited.
Say, if the prevailing market price is P10 per kilo and he deposits 20-metric tons, he will be given an “advance payment” of P200,000.
At off harvest season when the price of corn goes up to P16 per kilo, the farmer could surrender his “Quedan” paper to is association and get the difference between the advanced payment of P10 per kilo and the prevailing market price of P16.
After paying drying and storage fees estimated at P1-per kilo, the farmer goes home with an additional P100,000 which he could have lost without the Grains Drying and Storage Facility.
The physical infrastructure will be funded under the EU Grant for Mindanao Rise while the operating capital will be sourced from DBP or other government financing institutions with established Feed Milling Corporations as marketing partners.
With the support of government funding institutions like the DBP which is MinDA’s partner bank, here are the expected benefits of this program:
1. The farmer will be protected from price manipulations during peak harvest season thus ensuring a better income;
2. The farmer, assured of a good price and protection, is expected to plant more which would mean greater productivity;
3. With greater corn production, the country will be less dependent on importation thus saving on dollar reserves and creating more local economic activities;
4. Feed millers and livestock and poultry growers who need corn for their feed production will be spared from the problem of fluctuating prices;
5. Assured with a steady supply of corn even during off-harvest season at predictable prices, feed millers could stabilize the selling prices of their produce and in the process protect local livestock and poultry growers from the violent ups and downs of the price of feeds;
6. Stable pricing of feeds will allow livestock and poultry to bring down their production costs. It will make them competitive and encourage greater productivity;
7. Farmers who belong to the Grains Dryer and Storage associations could generate huge profits for themselves and use these in improving and upgrading corn farming. (i.e. for a grains complex with a storage capacity of 20-million kilos charging a fee of P1 per kilo, the estimated gross income is P20-M i’s n one season.)
Needless to say, a vibrant corn, feed milling and livestock and poultry industry means more jobs and more economic activities thus boosting MinDA’s program to reduce poverty, increase productivity, promote peace and trigger Mindanao’s economic recovery.
MinDACorn Program proposes the establishment of the pilot Grains Drying and Storage Centers in at least 4 to 5 areas in Mindanao which produces at least 45% to the country’s total corn output every year.
At least five pilot areas have already been identified, including Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato, Davao del Norte and Agusan del Sur.
The challenge which needs to be addressed in this program will be the financial literacy and management capability of farmers associations which could be addressed by initially engaging a professional management team to assist them.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#AgricultureIsCommonSense!
(Photos were downloaded from public websites.)
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