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March 8, 2020

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North Luzon farmers have found a hybrid corn variety originally developed to fight the highly devastating Asiatic corn borer to be similarly resistant to the just emerging fall armyworm that is now infesting Philippines’ corn farms.

   A relatively new pest in the Philippines that has already invaded Southeast Asia from its

origin in America, fall armyworm has become a major concern for the industry as the

extent of actual damage to corn crops is feared from trivial to significant.

   The VT Double PRO Dekalb hybrids, which has a biotechnology trait that controls lepidopteran pest Bacillus thuringiensis (TB), is reportedly also bringing resistance to the

newly emerged fall armyworm, farmers claimed.

   The VT Double Pro of Bayer has a dual mode of action for protection against fall armyworm, corn borer, corn earworm, and other above-ground pests notorious for wreaking havoc on corn crops leading to huge yield losses.

   “We observed that some corn hybrids had around 13 to 17 percent damage due to fall

armyworm, but the Dekalb VT Double Pro hybrids planted at the same time had less than 3 percent damage,” according to Rolex Martinez, a farmer in Barangay Swan, Pudtol, Apayao.

   He planted the VT Double Pro Dekalb hybrids in 7 hectares during the previous season.

   These Dekalb hybrid corn seeds are currently the only seed product certified by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) as plant-incorporated protectant for control of fall armyworm

   With other hybrids not having the technology, corn farmers were not as lucky as they tried

to apply different types of insecticides to no avail.

   The fall armyworm has become a major concern for corn farmers since it emerged just in June 2019.

   “Some say that the damage of fall armyworm is not yet very big. Let’s not wait for the damage to turn huge until help to farmers is extended. We are waiting for government to immediately download to farmers whatever solution has been found effective,” said PMFI President Roger Navarro.

   Many farmers are clueless on how to control fall armyworm, considering it is just a new pest.  An old pest, though, known only as “armyworm” before was said to be already existing in the Philippines in the last decades.

   “We are confused on what to do. We don’t know how to control this pest.  We have tried all kinds of pesticides—the strongest ones. We found these useless. We hope the government will recommend to us whatever is best to control this pest,” said Martinez.

   In Barangay Duminit, Cauayan City, Isabela, Art Cacal, a farmer and barangay chairman

who grows white glutinous corn, experienced huge damage from fall armyworm from his latest harvest.

   “Fall armyworm destroyed 100 percent of our harvest because the pest ate up all the leaves,”

said Cacal.

   Similar to the situation of Martinez, corn farmers in Cauayan City also tried using different

types of insecticides just to combat the pest.  But none of them was able to prevent the

damage to their crops. Cacal mentioned that there were several farmers who had up to 50

percent yield loss at harvest time due to the corn pest.

   On the other hand, Cacal added that farmers who planted the Dekalb corn hybrids last

season did not encounter the same damaging fate.

   The Department of Agriculture gave away fertilizers to farmers in Cauayan City in order to

counter destruction of fall armyworm.

   “We received a total of 149 bags in fertilizer for our entire barangay because DA gave 3 bags of fertilizer per hectare, but it didn’t have much good result for fall armyworm,” said Cacal.

   White glutinous corn is preferred to be planted by some farmers in Cauayan City since it

is a short two-month crop compared to yellow corn’s four-month planting duration.

   Cropping may reach up to five times a year leading to quicker cash turnover. Traders or

buyers of white corn used as food (grilled corn) intentionally travel to Cauayan City just to haul white corn when Nueva Ecija supply gets depleted.

   However, the growing concern from fall armyworm infestation is making farmers growing white corn to shift to planting yellow corn. 

   They are likely to use the Dekalb VT Double Pro corn hybrid varieties due to their resistance to this emerging key corn pest.

   “Our team in the field has observed numerous cases of fall armyworm damage in major

corn growing areas all over the country.  And we feel sorry for our farmers who had the

yields and income reduced significantly due to this corn pest,” said Erwin Vibal, head of

marketing for Bayer CropScience.

   “Fortunately, we are able to address this key concern with our lineup of Dekalb corn hybrids that have proven built-in resistance against fall armyworm.”

   Based on the current list of Fertilizer and Pestcide Authority (FPA) for registered products

to control fall armyworm, Bayer’s VT Double PRO is the only Plant-Incorporated

Protectant in the approved registry while the rest are insecticide application.

   “We are looking forward to the coming season because our Dekalb seeds provide much

more convenience and assurance to our corn farmers from fall armyworm.  We also

ensure that the agronomic characteristics of our hybrids are adaptable to different growing

conditions leading to high yields and income,” added Vibal. 

   Aside from their corn hybrid varieties, Vibal mentioned that Bayer is also launching Yeoval

next month, which is a crop protection product that can help address the concern for farmers planting white glutinous corn or sweet corn. Melody Mendoza Aguiba and Bryan P. Rivera

January 24, 2020

A first-of-its-kind urban farm has been put up in Taguig City by Germany-based Bayer as a showcase of a sustainable farm that has a captured market in Hilton hotel chain Conrad Manila.

At a launch in Pamayanang Diego Silang in Brgy. Ususan Taguig, the 200 square meter urban garden called “Bayer Kubo” aims to be part of contributing to meeting certain United Nations goals. The site is nearly along expressway C-5.

A major one under the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations is “zero hunger.”

Vinit Jindal, Bayer Philippines Inc managing director, said the urban garden in Taguig City contributes to this goal and, depending on the availability of suitable land and other partners, the Bayer Kubo concept may be replicated in other urban areas “where it will have significant positive impact.”

“With the Philippines’ growing population, urban agriculture will be important in food security,” said Jindal.
Conrad Manila General Manager Laurent Boisdron said the hotel traditionally sources its supply of vegetables and herbs from the local market.

“We will now buy our vegetables from this farm. Yes we know the produce will be of high-quality with this partnership with Bayer and the community,” said Boisdron in the same launch Thursday.

The project’s memorandum of agreement also includes Taguig local government unit (LGU) and civic group Rise Against Hunger.

Jomar Flores, Rise Against Hunger executive director, said some urban farms are just launched and later on abandoned. But two major factors will contribute to sustainability of Bayer Kubo.

Direct participation from the Pamayanang Diego Silang and the presence of a direct market in Conrad Manila are major factors to sustainability, said Flores. The BCDA housing community has 2,800 units with 62 buildings.

“We put up our first Food Bank (food storage centers for free distribution to urban poor) in Taguig City. Food banks will only succeed if it’s in an urban area, not rural. The food manufacturers are there (as food supply sponsors),” said Flores.

While it is difficult to organize scattered people in the boondocks, urban areas have the human density, the urban poor consumers, who need food and jobs.

Rise Against Hunger has 12 day care centers in Taguig City where it regularly feeds children and has 500 member-families in its food bank.

Bayer is supplying all the needs of the urban farm—seeds, technical-agronomic assistance, training of people in financial-business operation.

Earwin A. Belen, licensed agriculturist of Rise Against Hunger, said the Bayer Kubo program is using organic practices in the vegetable and herbs farm.

“We’re using organic practices. We use vermicast as fertilizer from worm (waste). We are training the resident-farmers on how to grow vegetables together with the DA (Department of Agriculture,” said Belen.

Bayer Kubo program will also train the 30 registered volunteers from Pamayanang Diego Silang on preparing organic concoctions, fermented fruit juice as plant growth enhancers.

The aquaponics system that Bayer Kubo program is using is also efficient in both fish and vegetable production. It uses a one cubic meter tank to grow lettuce producing 75 heads per cycle (5-6) weeks.

The vegetables are supplied with nutrient by the waste of the fish from the same tank that can grow 30 kilos of tilapia at a time.

Vegetables and herbs now planted in the Bayer Kubo facility here are eggplant, tomato, pepper, medicinal plants roselle, taheebo, gotu kola, tarragon, gotu kola, serpentine, basil, lemongrass, and Thai garden tea.

Registered farmer-volunteers in the urban farm are 30 Pamayanang Diego Silang residents in medium-rise building community in BCDA Housing, mostly senior citizens or retirees.

A multi-sectoral partnership supports success of the program even as Taguig City itself has long been known to sustain its large tracts of profitable farm land despite urbanization.

“We have large tracks of land– hundreds of hectares for farm that have long been farm areas. We have a big production of melon in Taguig. We have kept our rice farms,” said Felix Catigay Taguig City environment officer.

Taguig City naturally has urban greenery program—containerized fruit-bearing trees and urban gardens – in idle areas identified by the city assessor’s office.

What makes the program more holistic is Bayer is making Bayer Kubo, particularly referring to a sawali-bamboo structure conference center, an urban poor multi-program center.

The consumer health and pharmaceutical divisions of Bayer Philippines is also supplying medicines, contraceptives and related products to the community that will support health and population control here.

It will provide training on family planning where Bayer has long involved in successful community work even in other countries where it operates. (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)
PHOTO

Bayer Philippines Managing Director Vinit Jindal at the Bayer Kubo with the high-rise buildings behind rising C-5 expressway, Taguig City