Aside from vegetables and rice, corn is also a significant industry in the region.
Federico from Lamut, Ifugao, is among the thousands of farmers who plant corn in the region.
However, despite their abundant harvests, they still face the problem of low prices.
At times, they are even underpriced, but they shrug it off just to make a sale.
This is also the experience of Marivic, a farmer from Paracelis, Mountain Province.
Yellow corn, which is used as animal feed, is the most commonly produced by the farmers.
They also say it would be a great help if they had machines to assist them.
These problems are what the Department of Agriculture aims to address.
One of their solutions is the establishment of a cooperative.
With this approach, it will be easier for the government to provide aid to farmers.
They can also acquire additional knowledge to improve their crops and income.
They also aim to eliminate middlemen as much as possible, so farmers can take home more profits.
From January to December 2023, 171,771.54 metric tons of corn were harvested in the Cordillera.
The largest contributor is Kalinga, with 63,660.19 metric tons or 37% of the total.
Next is Ifugao, contributing 30% or a total of 51,784.01 metric tons.
Third is Mountain Province with 14%, followed by Apayao with 10%, and Abra with 9%.
**VANESSA BUGTONG
