Corn production in the province of Ilocos Norte grew by 7.45 percent during the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with the production in the same period of 2020.  A total of 3,319 metric tons were harvested registering 230 metric tons increase over last year.

By crop type, 920 metric tons of white corn was harvested in the province of Ilocos Norte in the fourth quarter of 2021. The same production was also produced last year. On the other hand, the harvested yellow corn during the reference period totaled to 2,399 metric tons. The 2021 production recorded an increase of 10.60 percent compared to the production of 2,169 in the same quarter of 2020 (Figure 1).

The province of Ilocos Norte had the highest volume of corn production among the four provinces in Ilocos Region in the fourth quarter of 2021. From the region’s total production of 10,367 metric tons, 32.02 percent was contributed by Ilocos Norte.. The province of Pangasinan, seconded with 29.08 percent share, followed by the province of Ilocos Sur with 28.64 percent. La Union ranked fourth with 10.26 percent contribution (Figure 2).

Figure 3 shows the corn harvested area in Ilocos Norte by croptype, 4^th quarter 2020 and 2021.The total corn area harvested in the province of Ilocos Norte during the reference period in 2021 was 630 hectares. This is 0.32 percent higher than the total harvested corn area of 628 hectares in 2020 or an additional area of two hectares to the total area harvested in Ilocos Norte.

By crop type, yellow corn had the bigger  area harvested with a total of 406 hectares or 64.44 percent share to the total corn area in the province. The recorded area  was higher by 2.01 percent compared to the same quarter of 398 hectares in 2020.

In contrast, a decrease in the area harvested to white corn was recorded. From  230 hectares in 2020, it went down to 224 hectares in the same quarter of 2021. This is six hectares lower than the harvested area in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Figure 3).

The average yield of corn in the fourth quarter of 2021 went up from 4.92 to 5.27 metric tons per hectare compared to the fourth quarter in 2020. By ecosystem, yield of white corn improved from 4.00 to 4.11 metric tons per hectare or an addition of 2.2 cavans per hectare. Yellow corn also increased from 5.45 metric tons per hectare to 5.91 metric tons per hectare converting to an additional of 2.80 cavans per hectare of yellow corn. (Figure 4).

Table 1. Corn Production, Area and Yield in Ilocos Norte, 4th Quarter 2020 and 2021

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Corn Production Survey (CPS) is one of the major agricultural surveys conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This generates estimates on corn production, area, yield, and other production-related data that serve as inputs for policy making and programs on corn. Specifically, the production data generated from the survey are direct inputs to the value of production in Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries and accordingly to the computation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is conducted quarterly with the quarters as the reference periods, as follows:

April Round Survey – January to March

July Round Survey – April to June

October Round Survey – July to September

January Round Survey – October to December

The scope of the CPS includes:

a. Production, area planted/harvested and yield by ecosystem and seed type

b. Usage of seeds, fertilizer and pesticides

c. Source of irrigation water and adequacy

d. Monthly distribution of production and area harvested

e. Farm household disposition of production

f.  Area with standing crop

g. Planting intention for the quarter

Approved for Posting:

MARILYN P. VERGARA

Chief Statistical Specialist

PSA – Ilocos Norte