SMC buys corn from farmers

MANILA, Philippines — Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has ramped up its purchase of local corn, buying over 400 million kilograms to date in a bid to help local farmers and ensure stable food supply.

Through San Miguel Foods Inc., the company said it has purchased a total of 436,209 metric tons or 436 million kilos of corn as of end-September in a bid to boost farmers’ income amid the pandemic.

SMC has been ramping up its local corn purchases from farmer cooperatives in various areas nationwide as the lockdown and disruptions in transportation have limited their ability to sell their produce.

At the height of the pandemic months ago, SMC announced its plan to buy more local corn to prevent farmers from losing their capital and having the corn just go to waste, and to secure raw materials for food production.

“We have completed the construction of many of our new, modern feedmills nationwide, equipped with large silos with aerators. This allows us to stockpile and store corn and other grains for a year,” SMC president and COO Ramon Ang said.

He said that SMC’s local corn purchases also helped encourage other feedmillers and local assemblers to shore up their corn purchases.

Ang said SMC is still looking to buy more corn, particularly from Bukidnon and Pangasinan, once the harvest season starts in the first quarter of 2021.

“We will continue to help our local farmers however we can, and at the same time, ensure our supply of raw materials for food production,” he said.

Apart from guaranteeing off-take for corn farmers, SMC also initiated various programs to help farmers and the agricultural sector.

It partnered with the DA to open Kadiwa stores at Petron gas stations to allow local farmers to sell their fresh produce to more consumers throughout Metro Manila.

It has also bought excess carabao milk from local cooperatives, to be distributed to poor communities. Recently, it opened Better World Diliman, a market for excess produce bought from farmers at higher farmgate prices, and sold to resellers and consumers at lower prices.