“Corn farmgate pricse are already rapidly falling and it’s not even at the peak of harvest yet!” This is this harvest season’s big concern for farmers who grow yellow corn in Cagayan Valley.

In a report released by the Danggayan Cagayan Valley (Alliance of Farmers in the Cagayan Valley), the price of regular corn in Lasam, Cagayan is only ₱7/kilo; ₱10/kilo in San Mariano, Ilagan, Roxas and ₱10.50 in San Guillermo. In Gattaran, regular corn costs ₱11.50/kilo while “good & dry” (with low moisture content) is only ₱15-17.50/kilo.

In Cotabato, as well as in Bukidnon and Maguindanao, corn prices is set at ₱17/kilo (from ₱25/kilo before the harvest season). In Zamboanga ₱17-₱19 per kilo from ₱20/kilo. Elsewhere in BARMM, it was only ₱16 from ₱26-₱27 before harvest. Farmers predict that prices will further plummet at the height of the harvest.

“We survived the army worm infestation, high winds, floods and just finished being struck by El Niño, but we can’t survive the cheap price of corn,” the farmers said. They condemned traders for pushing down prices during the harvest season. They said it’s like the traders are asking for their produce for free.

Low farmgate prices is an extremely large cross to bear for farmers especially amid unrelenting increase in production costs. They need at least ₱64,000 per hectare, which they usually borrow at a very high interest rate of 30-40%.

“Almost 80% of our expenses are spent on seed, fertilizer and labor,” Danggayan said. “The lenders are the same people who buy our corn at the price and classification they set. The good & dry (corn) they buy from us at ₱16/kilo are sold for ₱50/kilo to the big feed plants in Bulacan and Manila. Where is the justice in this?”

Corn is the second most widely grown crop in the Philippines. More than 500,000 farming families grow corn on nearly 2.5 million hectares. Yellow corn comprises 72% of the corn they grow, which is used as feeds for pigs, chickens and fish. Cagayan Valley (Isabela) and Northern Mindanao (Bukidnon) are the largest corn producers.

Apart from yellow corn, farmers also grow white corn, which is used as an ingredient in corn starch, binatog (a local steamed corn kernel snack) and kornik (a crunchy corn kernel snack). Its ground form is also a substitute for rice.