With corn mechanization, farming can now be a profitable enterprise.


Corn mechanization is the efficient application of modern corn farm technologies which reduces drudgery of manual labor, allows timely operations, increases cropping intensity and enhances productivity at competitive costs.


The Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE), taking the lead in the modernization of the agriculture sector, sees mechanization as an imperative move in reviving the slow pace of the corn industry. BPRE is tasked to accelerate the implementation of corn mechanization by providing appropriate technologies and technical assistance to farmers and other stakeholders.



The cornmech catalyst




The Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Unit III (DA-RFU III) is implementing the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Corn Program to boost agricultural production towards global competitiveness and food security in Region III. Corn mechanization is set to realize this vision by empowering farmers and improving their farming operations.


BPRE forged partnership with the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Unit III to expedite the implementation of the corn mechanization program. The bureau transferred corn farm machineries to DA-RFU III to support the program on aggressive extension of corn mechanization. The agencies signed a Memorandum of Agreement to define the responsibilities and terms upon use of corn machineries.


Catalyzing the corn mechanization program in the region, DA-RFU III conducts field demonstrations and trains prospective corn machinery operators. It also provides corn machineries to custom service potential adopters as part of promotional activities.


'Upon seeing the actual demonstration of
mechanized technologies, farmers have manifested interest in mechanizing their farms,' reveals Mr. Edwin Paningbatan, Regional Corn Coordinator of DA-RFU III.


'Region III has a total corn area of 26,000 hectares, 500 of which is now under corn mechanization and more farmers are willing to adopt mechanization,' he adds.


But promoting corn mechanization is an uphill climb. Among the problems that snag the implementation of the program are the slow adoption of clustering among small corn farmers, unavailability of spare parts of the equipment in the local market and the costly subsequent repair of machineries. Other constraints cited for the large-scale corn mechanization are small landholdings and inaccessibility of farms. However, these factors have not hampered the agency's drive towards improved productivity and competitiveness of farmers.


'Mechanized corn farms have achieved quality corn translating to higher market price. The
mechanical corn planter assures accuracy of seed and fertilizer placement and more uniform distribution of seeds,' Mr. Paningbatan explains.


Manual planting causes uneven seed spacing and depth and uneven fertilizer resulting to high cost of production due to inherent inefficiencies in the system.


'Corn's susceptibility to aflatoxin can also be prevented because the corn harvested through the combine harvester is picked and shelled at optimum maturity reducing breakage of corn kernels,' he adds.


Moreover, Paningbatan says that the large-scale machines are limited to large areas and he stressed the need to produce low-cost and small-scale machines at par with imported models and adaptable to local conditions for the benefit of the small farmers.


'We will sustain the information campaign to create awareness among corn farmers on the benefits of mechanized corn operations,' he concludes.



The cornmech adopters




At the base of the catastrophic Mt. Pinatubo in Floridablanca, Pampanga lie the corn farms owned by Mr. Paul Limhoco.


For the last four planting seasons, the nine-hectare corn area with approximately 40,000 tons yield used full mechanization, from planting to harvesting.


Mr. Limhoco runs a feedmill and a piggery which predominantly use corn as raw material and food supply, respectively.


When asked about the benefits of mechanization, he kidded:'Walang stress pag gumamit ka ng mechanized equipment kasi yung tractor lang ang kausap mo. 'Di mo na kailangang makipag-diskusyon sa maraming tao.'(Using mechanized equipment is less stressful because you don't need to discuss with many people.)


'For entrepreneurs like me, time is very essential. Mechanization speeds up operations, thus, more productive activities are undertaken,' he says.


He is thankful for the assistance of the DA-RFU III in mechanizing his farm operations because the equipment are more efficient and hassle-free compared to manual labor.


'Mechanization is really a good option especially to large farms because it lowers cost and eases pressure of handling many laborers,' he ends.


Another cornmech adopter is Dr. Arnold Sabellano, a veterinarian by profession but a farmer at heart with cornlands straddling in the lahar-hit terrains of Bacolor, Pampanga.


Dr. Sabellano has used the corn harvester in harvesting his 11-hectare corn area. 'Manual harvesting would take two weeks. But using the corn harvester, the harvesting time was reduced to only two days and 3 hours,' he reveals.


He pays the agency P4,000 (inclusive of fuel, operators' fee and maintenance) as rental fee of the harvester for each hectare.


'Mechanization is really a good partner,' he asserts. 'It reduces manual labor, allows timely operations and improves corn quality at reasonable costs,' he adds.


Dr. Sabellano puts, 'Farming is not an attractive venture in the country. The typical image of a farmer living in a scanty hut, plowing the field under the punishing sun- is still the mindset creeping in the Filipino system.'


No farmer parent aims to shift his laborious fieldwork to his children. But nowadays, that frail identity of farmers is slowly being transformed. This is because of mechanization. It is now time to alleviate the backbreaking farm labor and put the Filipino farmer's image into a better parcel. Yet, moving farmers into action is a difficult task.


'If you want to mobilize farmers and convince them to adopt new technologies, you should first show them how the machineries work,' Dr. Sabellano suggests.


He cites, 'When I harvested the corn using the corn harvester, some farmers from neighboring areas saw its performance and immediately sparked their interest.'


Imbued by the efficient performance of the corn harvester, Dr. Sabellano also discloses his desire to use other mechanized equipment like the corn planter and cultivator to produce first rate corn equivalent to higher marketability.



Another cornmech catalyst




Corn mechanization has also been operational in Tarlac through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPag) for two years now.


The corn program in Tarlac is funded by the Provincial Government and the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation (QUEDANCOR).


The corn mechanization program provides inputs support to qualified farmers like labor (machine and equipment), seeds, fertilizer, soil conditioner, chemicals and technical support. Marketing assistance during harvest is also provided. The loan is payable after harvest.


The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist coordinates with the Local Government Unit (LGU) for the identification of sites and farmer cooperators.


To further commercialize the cornmech program, the OPag conducted Farmers' Field Day, technical briefing and information campaign to create awareness among farmers on the advantages of corn mechanization.


'We have also toured farmers to corn areas that are adopting corn mechanization to see the actual operations,' says Mrs. Edwina Tabamo, Program Officer for Corn.


According to Mrs. Tabamo, farmers are receptive and willing to adopt corn mechanization. However, there's a mismatch among machine capacities, farms and farmers' needs. It coincides with the need to fabricate small-scale machines suited to small farms.


The OPag is continuously conducting the corn mechanization in the province in collaboration with Quedancor. If given the chance, it looks forward to collaborating with BPRE in the demo-activities for the BPRE pneumatic corn planter.



Moving forward with cornmech




A more competitive corn sector is heading.


Using corn mechanization, farming will no longer take the backseat. Appropriate machines for farming means convenience, productivity and competitiveness. And abundance is nigh.