Dubbed as the corn granary of Leyte Province, the Municipality of San Isidro is set to host this year’s regional corn derby. During the Ormoc City Corn Derby Exit Conference held recently, a short turnover ceremony was conducted where Municipal Agriculturist Jerome Llano received the symbolic token from representatives of the Department of Agriculture RFO VIII and the City Agriculture Department of Ormoc, marking the start of the momentous event.

As one of the major interventions under the Corn Program, the corn derby aims to establish a corn production technology demonstration in a cluster area, with the goal of boosting farmers productivity and involvement of private partners in extension services.

Initially, about 250 hectares of corn area in the municipality was identified for the initiative, which would showcase modern production technologies such as high-quality seed varieties, crop establishment methods, mechanization, and nutrient management practices. The Corn Program, led by Leandro Baula met the representatives from the local government unit and private seed/ fertilizer companies for a short briefing about the upcoming corn derby.

Also, the highlight of the meeting was the presentation of results after the success of Ormoc City Corn Derby. Held from March to October last year, the techno-demo sites covered about 260 hectares of corn fields where the Ormoc City Corn Cluster Association collaborated as the main farm cluster partner, alongside seven seed companies, twenty fertilizer companies, and other private sector participants.

The final results from crop cuts were presented during the exit conference. Subsequently, awards were given to participating companies that achieved a minimum fresh grain yield of 6 MT/ha.

Outstanding performers were likewise recognized, namely Dekalb 9118s (NSIC 2020 GMCn 70) by Bayer Crop Science which led the seed category with a 6 MT/ha grain yield. Bio H600 (Agrigrowth Int’l Corporation) topped the bio-fertilizer category at 8.3 MT/ha, while Humus Plus (AgriGrowth Int’l Corporation) was the leading soil ameliorant at 7.8 MT/ha. In the Package of Technologies category, H. Serafica’s Plantation Corp. achieved the highest yield at 9.4 MT/ha.

Aside from the awarding, the culmination of the modified Farmers Field School took place during the activity. The season-long training was held alongside the corn derby, resulting in about 50 farmer-graduates from the city.

As presented during the exit conference, the 2025 Ormoc City Corn Derby successfully demonstrated that the adoption of modern corn production technologies can significantly elevates farm productivity. The achievement of yields as high as 9.4 MT/ha provides a benchmark for the corn cluster, as well as validates clustering and consolidation approach as a viable marketing strategy in increasing the profitability and income of corn farmers in the region.