Bacolod City – The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) lauded Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, led by Vice Governor Jose Benito Alonso, for taking cognizance of the immediate problem facing by the sugar industry, specifically the infestation of Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) and catastrophic effects of Typhoon Crising, by placing Negros Occidental under a state of calamity.
The declaration from the province will allow SRA to hasten procurement of pesticides as the first defense, based on the research from the National Crop Protection Center of UP (University of the Philippines), according to SRA head Pablo Luis Azcona.
If not fully contained, RSSI can reduce sugar content in sugarcane by up to 50 percent.
The Department of Agriculture and SRA have allocated P15 million for the immediate purchase of pesticides to address the RSSI infestations, which prompted the SRA to request the affected LGUs to
declare state of emergency, or urgency, which is a requirement to facilitate the immediate purchase of pesticides.
We can now move forward to utilize the P10 million assistance from the Department of Agriculture, so our farmers, especially the small ones, can start working on their fields, and make sure that their canes can recover, or are protected from RSSI, Azcona said.
As of July 17, the RSSI infestations have affected 2,988 hectares, of which 2,931 are in Negros Occidental, SRA records showed.
David Sanson, head of SRA’s Task Force on RSSI, said the declaration will facilitate the immediate purchase of pesticides, as well as the massive reproduction of fungus and other beneficial organisms that will be known if effective after field testing is completed.
Azcona also ordered a reassessment of RSSI infested fields to see whether the rains have somehow reduced its presence from sugarcane, and to proceed with the testing of organic solutions, such as the use of the fungus for long term use.
The P5M earmarked by SRA is up for use in the mass reproduction of entomopathogenic fungi that will be used to eliminate the RSSI that have been destroying sugarcane farms in Negros and Panay.
SRA is now studying the multiplication of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana, which are widely used as biological control agents against insects that feed on plants and other agricultural produce. (Gilbert Bayoran via tvds)