Leyte posts highest corn production in Eastern Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Leyte province recorded the highest corn production of 7,101 metric tons, which is about 67.4 percent of the total corn harvest in Eastern Visayas, a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority-Region 8 showed.

This came despite the decrease of 9.6 percent in corn production throughout the region, from 11,649 MT in the first quarter of last year to 10,528 MT in the same period this year.

Wilma Perante, PSA-8 regional director, told The Freeman that, among the six provinces in Eastern Visayas, "Leyte produced the highest volume of corn at 7,101 MT… Biliran province, meanwhile, had the lowest volume of production (at 118 MT), accounting for only 1.1 percent."

Perante also said the total harvest area for corn in the region likewise decreased by 7.1 percent, from 8,081 hectares in the first quarter of last year to 7,507 hectares in the same period this year. "Contributing largely to this decrease is Northern Samar with a drop of 30.1 percent," she said.

Leyte recorded almost three quarters or 74.3 percent (5,574 hectares) of the total corn area harvested during the quarter in review, while Eastern Samar contributed the least with 70 hectares, accounting for only 0.9 percent.

Decreases in total corn production per hectare were observed in provinces in Region 8, except in Southern Leyte and Eastern Samar, which posted increases of 7.0 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, said Perante.

The region's  yield per hectare however remained at 1.4 metric tons per hectare, said Perante, with Eastern Samar having the highest yield at 2.0 MT per hectare, and Biliran having the lowest yield at 1.2 MT per hectare.  (FREEMAN)