San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has bought 69 million kilos of corn from Filipino farmers in a bid to support local food sources.
SMC’s new purchases were made with the help of the Department of Agriculture, with SMC immediately releasing payment.
SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said that the company, through its San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI), sourced the corn from local farms to help farmers affected by the community quarantine that has affected food production and distribution.
SMC purchases from farms include:
- 92,000 kilos of corn from farmer-cooperatives in Central Luzon and Pangasinan
- 50,000 kilos of corn from Camarines Sur
- 100,000 kilos of corn from the Maymatan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Camarines Sur
“We expect to purchase more corn from farmers in the coming weeks as we continue to secure agreements with farmers in many corn-producing regions in the country. We thank the Department of Agriculture for giving us the opportunity to help our farmers get a ready market for their products at pre-agreed and guaranteed prices,” Ang said.
SMC has also called on farmers of rice, cassava, coconut oil, and other farm products to come forward through the assistance of the DA.
“The farmers are at the core of our food production and they are even more essential and vital during this pandemic. We encourage more to come forward and help us secure the needed ingredients and raw materials for our food production,” the SMC chief said.
SMC had earlier worked with the agriculture department to purchase 4 million kilos of surplus corn to produce feeds for over 7 million live broilers that can eventually feed 4 million families in one day.
SMC’s other projects with the agriculture agency include the selling of farmers’ fresh produce in Petron gas stations in Metro Manila through the agency’s “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” rolling store program.
These DA rolling stores complement SMC’s own efforts to make fresh poultry, meats, and ready-to-eat products available to consumers through Petron gas stations. Currently, there are 30 reefer vans-cum-rolling stores serving different locations throughout the metro.
Meanwhile, six Petron Treats stores were also initially tapped as pick-up areas for San Miguel Foods Inc.’s new online ordering platform to further boost food accessibility.
At the start of the ECQ, SMC committed to 24/7 operations of its food facilities to ensure a stable food supply for at least six months or beyond.
The Department of Agriculture has also partnered with Homegrown Organics for home deliveries of farm produce.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to SMC and the Department of Agriculture for supporting local farmers of corn.
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