Native corn varieties getting conserved

The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) sees native corn’s continued cultivation in the Philippines despite the growing popularity of higher-yielding hybrid varieties.

BAR, an agency under the Department of Agriculture, is cooperating with the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (IPB-UPLB) and DA regional field offices (RFOs) in implementing a long-term program called Corn Germplasm Utilization through Advance Research and Development (CGUARD) to preserve native corn varieties.