Corn Prices in Gorontalo Soar Amid Drought and Harvest Failure

The prolonged dry season has begun to have a significant impact on the agricultural sector in Gorontalo Province. The situation has triggered rising prices alongside a decline in the quality of corn at a number of traditional markets, as a result of farmers’ falling harvests.

At the Central Market in Gorontalo City, traders have begun complaining about scarce supplies. Oma Nana, a corn trader, said the price of sweet corn had risen sharply because stocks were increasingly limited during the dry season.

“Previously, with Rp10,000 buyers could get five cobs, now they only get three. The quality has also declined because the kernels have become dry and shrivelled due to the extremely hot weather,” said Oma Nana on Saturday (25 July).

Beyond sweet corn, price increases have also hit the BISI-2 and hybrid corn varieties. Both types are currently priced at around Rp10,000 per litre. According to Oma Nana, the hybrid variety is the worst affected by the drought, as it is generally planted on large plots located far from permanent water sources.

She explained that corn crops depend heavily on an adequate supply of water to grow well. “If the dry season arrives early, the harvest shrinks and can even fail altogether,” she added.

Technically, corn takes around 70 days to become ready for harvest. However, the risk of failure rises drastically if drought strikes from the start of the growing period. This has made it difficult for farmers to achieve optimal harvests.

Sweet corn, on the other hand, is considered to have somewhat better production resilience. This is because sweet corn is generally cultivated on land around river areas, so its water needs are relatively better safeguarded compared with rain-fed fields.

The drought has ultimately created a domino effect, from reduced supplies reaching the markets to pushing up prices at the trader level, as the risk of harvest failure continues to loom over farmers in Gorontalo.