FACTORS INFLUENCING CORN PRODUCTIVITY IN SURALLAH, SOUTH COTABATO

The study was conducted at Surallah, South Cotabato from September 2021 to January 2022 to determine the factors influencing corn productivity in the study area. The respondents of this study were the OPV corn farmers of the said area. There was a total of 296 farmer-respondents, which were composed of 144 white corn farmers and 152 yellow corn farmers. Data were gathered through personal interviews with the farmer respondents using a structured questionnaire. To determine the factors influencing corn productivity, data was analyzed using the Stochastic Frontier Cobb - Douglas production function. Additionally, to determine the profitability of corn farming, this study used the cost and return analysis method. Other data that were gathered were using descriptive statistics. Using the stochastic frontier cobb-douglas production function, in white OPV corn, the result shows that both labor (man-days) and fertilizer (kg/ha) were statistically significant at 10%. Educational attainment also showed a significance at 10%. Meanwhile, farm income (Php/month) showed a positive significance at 1%. In yellow Open Pollinated Variety (OPV) corn, the coefficient for educational attainment and no. of seminars attended are statistically significant at 1%. On the other hand, fertilizer (kg/ha), farm income, and age were statistically significant at 5%. Meanwhile, the dummy variable sex was negatively significant at 10%. Therefore, the amount of fertilizer, labor, educational attainment, farm income, age, number of seminars and pieces of training attended, and sex were variables that significantly influenced the corn yield and productivity in Surallah, South Cotabato.