After working for a construction company in Saudi Arabia for 4 years, Jorge “George” Edrada returned to the Philippines and decided to begin working as a full-time farmer. Much to his surprise, he later realized that he can earn bigger income as a farmer compared with working overseas.
Edrada’s inspiring story began when he started planting rice, eggplant, and other vegetables. He, however, stopped and tried growing green corn instead.
He would then discover the perks of planting green corn.
As the Filipino Times article tells us, some of the top advantages of green corn is that it “can be grown throughout the year” and that “turnover is also fast”.
Edrada later filled a 5,000-square meter lot with corn. At first, he planted white waxy corn until he heard about the new bicolor varieties. Traders who buy corns from farmers prefer the bicolor ones since the purple coloration of the kernels are great for the body because of its high content of antioxidants.
The Violeta waxy corn can immediately be harvested in about 65 to 70 days after it was planted. That meant that Edrada was able to make a profit of at least Php 40,000 every week using his 5,000-square meter land. He said he consciously limits his planting to that specific size so that he can still manage it effectively.
Compared with other corn varieties, the bicolor waxy corn isn’t as tall so it isn’t easily blown by strong winds. However, it produces big earns which is a good thing for farmers since it makes sacks heavier. This means bigger potential profit since they are sold by the kilo. Just imagine this – just five pieces of Violeta can already weigh two kilos!
According to Edrada, boiled corn is high in demand in the provinces particularly during All Saints’ Day and the Christmas season.
via: filipinotimes