High-yielding Biotech Seeds to Help Filipino Farmers to Export Corn

The Philippine government was urged to promote high-yielding biotech corn seeds to boost production and enable farmers to export. This call was given by Monsanto Philippines Commercial Lead, Rachelle Lomibao during an interview after the launch of the company's new hybrid corn variety, Dekalb 6999S.

She stressed that expanding the use of modern technology will help the government achieve its target of exporting corn soon. The Department of Agriculture projects that the Filipino farmers will be able to export corn this year due to the surplus of corn. However, Lomibao said that exporting corn may not occur yet in the current year due to the gap between the supply and demand.

"If you just increase the yield average per hectare then you don't have to increase the number of hectares to be planted with corn. You just increase productivity per hectare and that's not impossible," said Lomibao. She added that aside from high-yielding seeds, other factors such as fertilization, correct agronomic practices, and proper management of resources should be considered in exporting corn.

Read the original article in Business Mirror. For more information about high-yielding biotech corn seeds, visit the Monsanto Philippines website.