LINGAYEN–Recognized by the Department of Agriculture as the province with the biggest and best quality yellow corn harvest, Pangasinan now wants to boost its white corn production through a competition involving the barangays.

Dubbed the Maisan sa Barangay, the project is open to any barangay that will be able to allot at least 250,000 square meters of land within their community for corn production.

The corn seeds will be provided by the Abono partylist while the provincial government will cover half of the fertilizer needs of the farmers.

Winners in the municipal level will receive P200,000 funded-project, district winner will get P1 million funded- project and another P1 million funded-project for the provincial winner.

Pangasinan representatives Arthur Celeste, Mark Cojuangco, Conrado Estrella III and Robert Estrella of the Abono partylist are contributing to the fund for the project.

Engr. Rosendo So, founding chairman of Abono partylist, said the project was conceived by his group together with Governor Amado Espino Jr. six months ago to maximize the use of idle lands and to introduce the product as substitute to rice.

The launching of the project on January 6 was attended by mayors and barangay officials from the 44 towns and four cities in the province.

So said the project aims to make white corn, as in some other parts of the country, a staple food for Pangasinenses.

So, also a businessman, said the party has initiated talks with hotel owners in Pangasinan, neighboring Baguio City and the province of Pampanga to encourage them to introduce white corn in their restaurant menu.

Espino, for his part, said the provincial government wants to push for corn production as it requires cheaper farm inputs and the plant is more resistant to typhoons compared to rice.

Espino noted that during the wet season, Pangasinan has about 376,000 hectares planted to rice while in the dry season, only 76,000 hectares are utilized, leaving a big area of idle land which can be used for corn production.

The Maisan sa Barangay project was also launched in neighboring La Union, one of the main cornick producing provinces, on January 7.#

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