image

To insure a continuous food source for our country during enhanced community quarantine, the Corn Program of the Department of Agriculture Region IV-CALABARZON is now preparing for the distribution of corn seeds to farmers within the Batangas and Quezon provinces.

For now, Lipa Agricultural Research and Experiment Station has produced 2,000 kilograms of glutinous corn seeds (lagkitan) and 1,000 kilograms of white flint corn seeds (puting mais) amid COVID-19 pandemic threats. Such open-pollinated varieties are grown for human consumption and feed formulation, respectively.

Glutinous corn seeds will be distributed to the corn farmers in Balayan, Padre Garcia, San Juan, Rosario, Batangas City, and Gumaca, while white flint corn seeds are intended to ration off into the 3rd and 4th districts of Quezon.

According to Ms. Avelita M. Rosales, Regional Corn Program Coordinator and Research Division Chief, the distribution of glutinous corn seeds will be handled by each area through the city/municipal agriculturist concerned, while the allocation of white flint corn seeds will be facilitated by the Quezon provincial agriculture office and Gumaca municipal agriculture office.