Business

The Department of Agriculture turns over the solar energy-powered greenhouse with hydroponics technology project to the Central Philippines State University.*The Central Philippines State University (CPSU) in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, is poised to earn income from lettuce production using a solar energy-powered greenhouse with hydroponics technology funded by the Department of Agriculture - Western Visayas.The facility was turned over on Monday, Oct. 13 by the DA-6 through the DA - Negros Island Region (NIR) to the CPSU, led by its president Aladino Moraca.It grows five lettuce varieties and has 2,700 heads ready for harvest.“The project aims to promote technology in modern and sustainable agriculture through the use of solar-powered system and hydroponics that e...

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. (l-r)*Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Sugar Regulatory Administration officials have met with traders to address concerns over the low prices of raw sugar seen during the first bidding in Negros on October 9.Laurel and SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and Board Member Dave Sanson have held initial discussions with traders, a Department of Agriculture (DA) statement said on Tuesday, Oct. 15.Azcona told DIGICAST NEGROS he has held a series of meetings with the traders since last week.Sugar traders revealed market hesitation, largely influenced by conflicting statements from various sugarcane farmer groups. As a result, major traders refrained from purchasing sugar dur...

The decline in sugar prices threatens rural livelihoods, the NIR representatives said.*Nic Ledesma file photoTen Negros Island Region (NIR) lawmakers, in a joint statement on Tuesday, Oct. 14, called on the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to take immediate measures to address the sharp decline in sugar prices that has left farmers struggling to recover their production costs.The representatives, in their joint statement, said reports that sugarcane farmers are being hit by a sharp decline in sugar prices “well below the cost of production, threatens rural livelihoods, food security, and social stability in the NIR.”Recent reports show that the millgate price for sugar has plunged to around P2,200 per 50-kilogram bag, a level nearly P300 below the estimated production cos...

RJ Ledesma, Ariel Casilao,  Fr. Melvin Fajardo,  Liza Maza and   Jenny Rapiz (l-r) at the press conference on Tuesday .*Members of an International Learning and Solidarity Mission (ILSM) on Tuesday, Oct. 14, condemned alleged rights violations and environmental destruction at the palm oil plantation of Hacienda Asia Plantations Inc. (HAPI) in Candoni, Negros Occidental, and are demanding that it ceases its operations.HAPI operates a reported 6,652.32 hectares of land in barangays Gatuslao and Agboy, Candoni, under an Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA).Its officials could not be reached for comment on the ILSM claims.RJ Ledesma, one of the ILSM members, said that they are gathering complete evidence for the filing of a Writ of Kalikasan against...

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) is holding a public hearing on minimum wage adjustments for private establishments in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct . 15.The hearing for domestic workers will be from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the same venue, the Department of Labor and Employment said.Wennie Sancho, General Alliance of Workers Associations, said they are demanding wage increase of P100 to P200 per day to restore the workers purchasing power.“A wage increase is necessary to ensure that workers can maintain a decent standard of living and contribute to the region's economic growth,” he said.*

Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez, 3rd from left, at the House of Representatives*Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) filed a resolution on Monday, Oct. 13, urging the House of Representatives to investigate the steep drop in millgate sugar prices in Negros Occidental.House Resolution No. 373 calls on the House of Representatives, through the Committees on Agriculture and Food, Trade and Industry, and Labor and Employment to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the sudden drop in the millgate price of locally produced sugar in Negros Occidental and its severe economic impacts on producers and laborers.“As the ‘sugar bowl of the Philippines,’ our province deserves fair prices and policies that protect our farmers, planters, and workers,” Benitez said.“Th...

Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya has ordered a Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis.*Ronnie Baldonado photoMayor Greg Gasataya ordered the suspension of face-to-face classes in all public primary and secondary schools in Bacolod City on Tuesday, October 14, to allow for the continuation of the inspection of school buildings following Monday's earthquake.A Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA) being jointly conducted by the City Engineer’s Office, Office of the Building Official, and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office started Monday and was still ongoing, the mayor said.The suspension of classes was also ordered on the recommendation of the Department of Education-Division of Bacolod City, he said.The public schools concerned are encouraged ...

Sugar leaders Aurelio Valderamma and Manuel Lamata (l-r)*“If there is someone to be blamed for the low price of sugar at the start of the milling season, we should look at the very people who have been agitating the market through their grandstanding.”That was the statement of Manuel Lamata, United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) chairman, on Sunday, Oct 12,  who lashed out at Aurelio Valderamma, Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc. (CONFED) president,  for an open letter against Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona over the low price of sugar at the start of this milling season.“I feel this was all orchestrated because up until they started talking of importation, over importation, over supply, the market was quiet and we were expecting better pr...

Sugar prices dropped from PhP 2,800 to PhP 2,700 per bag last crop year to only PhP 2,200 to PhP 2,300 last week.*Ronnie Baldonado file photo“Sugarcane farmers deserve an explanation why sugar and molasses prices have dropped to a level much lower than during the milling season’s opening last crop year,” National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) president Enrique D. Rojas and Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (PANAYFED) president Danilo A. Abelita  said in  a  joint statement on  Sunday, Oct . 12.The statement was in reaction to the open letter from the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) president Aurelio Gerardo J. Javellana Jr. issued  Friday (October 10) and addressed to Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona, ...