Mammangi Festival

 Ode to the corn farmers

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

In its 11th anniversary of celebrating its cityhood, Ilagan, the capital city of the province of Isabela, formally launched the iCorn Complex at the Marana 1st district. An initiative of its mayor, Hon. Josemarie Diaz, the facility is a tribute to all corn farmers.

In 2015, the Department of Agriculture data showed that the province has produced 250 metric tons of corn each year. Of these, 150-170 metric tons come from Ilagan. Corn is the city's essential crop, earning for itself the epithet "Corn Capital of the Philippines." As such, Ilagan has become the center for corn trading in the Cagayan Valley Region.

"The rationale for the Mammangi Festival is us pushing for corn farming. For a time, farmers stopped planting corn because it was no longer economically feasible. After harvest, the farmers would bring their corn to the processing facilities and sell them at a low price. When the corn is processed into feed, the farmers buy them at a higher cost. A majority of the corn produced in Ilagan, especially in Brgy. San Antonio, is yellow corn which is the variety used for livestock feed. It is high time to break this cycle. So we came up with synergism. We will process the corn ourselves and become the producers than end users.

"As we celebrate the Mammangi Festival, let us reflect upon our journey. Each year, we recognize the hard work and resilience of Ilagueños, as we give credit and pay tribute to our corn farmers. Mammangi in the local dialect means 'corn farmer.' We are now recognized as the best LGU (local government unit) in the entire Cagayan Valley Region. As such, we are in the forefront of economic progress. Yet, we appreciate our past as we were a struggling municipality back in 2016.

"From then on, we dreamt of becoming a city. And we did it in five years time. We met the requisite criteria of land area, population (180,000), and local income. We addressed all venues of service and slowly discarded the obsolete as we strengthened the purchasing power of the Ilagueños," intoned Mayor Diaz.

As a national project, the iCorn Complex facility had a total project cost of P 199, 201, 441.96. Of these amount, the Department of Agriculture shouldered P 107-million, while the city's counterpart amounted to P 92, 201, 441.96.

"This is the first of many collaboration projects with the city; showing our commitment to rural development. The iCorn Complex is the first of its kind in the country - as a post-harvest processing facility," enthused Sen. Mark Villar, who attended the ground-breaking ceremonies, as guest of honor.

The iCorn Complex will harness technology to produce top-notch products in pursuit of food security goals. In time, the facility (as corn innovation center) would also become a hub for research, together with the Department of Agriculture and the Isabela State University to catalyze positive change and contribute to the vitality of the agricultural sector.

The city's thrust on forward integration includes investments from Thailand for feeds, wherein a corn processing center for livestock feed will be built. With the iCorn Complex, the twice-a-year annual corn harvest may turn into three.

The City of Ilagan celebrates the Mammangi Festival annually every month of May. This year, however, the festival dates were moved to August due to super typhoon Betty that was forecast to hit northern Luzon in late May.

The City of Ilagan has a land area of 116 square miles, spread throughout 91 barangays. Aside from being named the 'Corn Capital of the Philippines,' it is also the biggest component city in the country. From the third poorest city, Ilagan is now the 50th richest city (among 147) in the entire archipelago, based on the latest Commission on Audit evaluation.

"The iCorn Complex will also become an innovation center for research & development for farmers; supplying them with the technological know-how. Our governance is paticipatory and our thrust is never for mere compliance. We'll pass this way once so we'll pour it our all, as we may never pass this way again," declared Mayor Diaz at the close of his keynote speech.