Sto. Tomas leads in organic white corn production
STO.TOMAS—This town, which will celebrate its centennial year foundation next year, has successfully produced white corn, locally known as the haba-haba variety, without the use of pesticide over a one hectare farm area.
This feat was recognized and served as the highlight of the first Corn Harvest Festival held Saturday afternoon in the pilot area in barangay Poblacion West.
“What we have today is a prelude to what we will do next year and will eventually set a new record and mark another historical event for our town in the years to come,” said Mayor Vivien Villar.
Part of next year’s big event is the holding of the longest corn grilling to be held “from boundary to boundary”, meaning the approximately five-kilometer stretch from its western tip at the boundary with Alcala town all the way to the northeastern boundary with Rosales town.
“Kung masasama kami sa Guinnness Book of World Records, bakit hindi, di ba? (If we could be included in the Guinness Book of World Records, why not?)”, the lady mayor said.
Villar said this is part of establishing their town as a corn-producing municipality under the nationwide “One Town, One Product” program of the Department of Trade and Industry.
She noted that while other towns like Binalonan are also corn producers, she urged her townmates to prove that they can lead in planting and harvesting corn which is pesticide-free, a first in Pangasinan.
Chrisanto Banila, the municipal agriculturist, told local reporters their farmers used earwigs, which are friendly insects that served as predators by eating corn borers’ eggs and larvae.
Aside from being environment-friendly, the product is very safe for the people to consume because it is organic and farmers could earn more, Banila said.
Normally, a farmer spends about P23,000 for a one hectare corn plantation
And earns from P10,000 to P15,000 profit within 75 days from planting to harvesting.
With the system adopted here, farmers could save as much as P1,500 per hectare for the pesticide expenses, he added.
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