MANILA, Philippines - Women are enterprising and they also make good farmers. Just like two women from Brgy. Posnaan, Aguinaldo, Ifugao. who have been growing one of the latest corn hybrids called Healer 101.

They are Julie Tinong, 36, and Isabel Cauelan, 63. Julie has been taking charge of growing corn in their two hectare-farm. Since she got married in 1994, she has been planting corn and had experienced growing the old varieties. Two years ago, she was introduced to Healer 101 and swears, this is the best variety she has tried so far.

In her latest dry season crop, she got an average of 120 cavans (56 kg per cavan) per hectare which she sold at P12.90 to P13 per kilo. She got a very good profit because she only spent P20,000 cash per hectare. She attributes the low cash expense to the fact that her four children helped her in land preparation, planting and other farm chores.

Julie loves the big kernels of Healer 101 which are bright orange, a color desired by feedmillers. The ear has a slender cob so kernel recovery is high.

Isabel Cauelan, 63, is another enterprising woman corn farmer also from Julie’s barangay. She started farming in 1987 and has been growing corn since then. A widow for 14 years, she has been planting Bioseed’s Healer 101 on three hectares for three years now.

She treats corn production as a business. She hires a tractor to prepare her farm for planting. Her cost of production is P25,000 per hectare. She usually harvests 120 cavans per hectare, especially during the dry season crop.

Sometimes, though, disaster strikes. When flood and typhoon struck and damaged her standing corn, she got only 49 cavans (dried). That was the lowest yield she ever got but she still managed to make a small profit. That’s one good thing about Healer 101, she said. It can survive some of the worst natural disasters.

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AGRILINK 2012 – This early, the Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development (FRLD), the proponent of Agrilink Trade Show, is busy preparing for the event’s 2012 edition.

This year’s theme is “Improving Animal Productivity Beyond Medication” and will focus on good animal health practices, inputs and technologies that contribute to sustainable farming and economic stability among farmers and the country as a whole.

The theme is highly appropriate since the Department of Agriculture’s thrusts this year include disease prevention, control and eradication; conservation and improvement of genetic materials; establishment of new infrastructure and postharvest facilities; exploration and promotion of alternative nutrition technologies, as well as taking advantage of the country’s status of being AI and FMD-free without vaccination.

FRLD president Antonio V. Roces said that “time was when animal health only meant getting rid of animal diseases and regular visits of veterinarians to farms. Today, the term animal health encompasses a whole gamut of facets since the world of agribusiness has also widened its scope. As we talk of animal health, aside from feeds, feed supplements and additives, we also get to include new technologies, animal housing design and equipment, building materials, layout and locations, drainage, waste management, controlled atmospheres and metered feeds and water inputs. All of these play a part in enhancing animal health which in turn determines profitability.”

Roces added that “the contribution and input of our livestock and poultry sectors to our economy has been significantly higher. While the current growth of our animal industry is very promising, integrating new technologies and health management over the past years have been tremendous, and they offer huge potential in improving animal health through different measures, and in turn enhance our productivity.”

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