Tuesday, November 24, 2009


CORNY BUSINESS

Popcorn is big business in the Philippines. But do you know that most of the corn used in this lucrative business come from Thailand? While in the past we exported corn, now there is practically no Philippine corn industry to speak of. This is because corn farmers do not get adequate government help in the form of farm technology, loans, sound advice and protection.

One person has practically cornered the popcorn industry in the country and has concessions in all movie houses, shopping malls and public parks. Talk about a popcorn cartel.

But what hurts most really is that the Thai corn industry was developed by Thai scholars sent by their government to UP Los Banos. The same story holds true with our so-called rice industry. Those behind the successful rice programs of other Asian countries all studied and learned their expertise at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and at UP Los Banos (UPLB).

1 comment:

Jasper Greek Lao Golangco said...

i'm afraid corn is not the only casualty in our agricultural industry, sir...
as someone who hails from baguio city, i have seen firsthand how many of our hardworking vegetable farmers are practically giving their harvest away for a song. they cannot compete with the cheap (poor quality) imports...
a kilo of cauliflower can now be bought for only P10... imagine that...