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Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Pablo Luis Azcona*Negros Occidental is set to lose 33,000 hectares of sugar production, equivalent to 150,000 metric tons of raw sugar, or about eight percent of national output, if no immediate intervention is taken against the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona warned on Thursday, July 16.“Going natural control is not quick, and it is not cheap. My personal experience is that using bio-pesticides costs 4 to 5 times more than using off-the-shelf solutions, and control is not as quick, and our farmers may not have the capacity to cope,” Azcona said.Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Tuesday declared that the Negros Occidental provincial gove...

The RSSI infestation in Negros*SRA photoThe Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (CONFED) on Thursday, July 16, said from the very beginning it has consistently advocated for immediate, large-scale intervention versus the Red Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation to prevent further losses to sugar farmers.“Our position has always been to support industry-wide, drone-assisted and manual ground-based spraying, together with other science-based measures that can be deployed safely and effectively to protect standing crops,“ a CONFED statement said.CONFED  cautioned against airplane aerial spraying.“We believe that such an approach should only be considered after the necessary scientific, environmental, and regulatory evaluations have established its safety ...

Bais City Mayor Luigi Marcel Goñi. *PNA/Mary Judaline F. Partlow photoThe local government of Bais City in Negros Oriental is exploring measures to contain the spread of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI), which has infested thousands of hectares of sugarcane fields, Mayor Luigi Marcel Goñi said Wednesday, July 15.Goñi said the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) declared a state of calamity last week following consultations with officials of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and representatives of the sugar industry.The infestation continues to spread, but the city government has yet to determine the most effective strategy to curb the pest outbreak, he said."We have not yet made a final decision on how to come up with a solution," Goñi said.The ma...

Bago City Mayor  Marina “Mayette” Javellana-Yao delivering her SOCA*Ronnie Baldonado photoBago City Mayor  Marina “Mayette” Javellana-Yao delivered her first State of the City Address Wednesday, July 15, highlighting a major ₱44.51 million agricultural subsidy program, a 300 percent expansion of the local senior pension, and a series of key healthcare and education initiatives under her administration’s "Asenso Bago” program.Speaking to local officials and constituents at the Bago City Coliseum, Javellana stressed that her office prioritized direct community services over traditional administrative bureaucracy.Among the major programs detailed in her address was the distribution of 34,200 bags of certified and hybrid palay seeds, which directly aided 10,263 local farm...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the provincial government will support  a natural approach not only for RSSI but also for all future pest problems.*Richard Malihan photoGov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the Negros Occidental provincial government will “go green” in the fight to eradicate the Red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation in sugarcane fields, it will not fund the proposed islandwide aerial spraying of chemicals.The provincial government will only support biological control to prevent the spread of RSSI, Lacson said on Tuesday, July 14. Lacson said the provincial government will support  a natural approach not only for RSSI but also for all future pest problems.They will support fungal production as one of the primary ways to prevent the spread of ...

The blue swimming crabs of EB Magalona.*Ronnie Baldonado photoA Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) director  has submitted a proposed four-phase strategic action plan to the Negros Occidental provincial government aimed at restoring Philippine access to the lucrative United States export market for the Negros Blue Swimming Crab industry.A copy of the plan  titled   "Restoring the U.S. market for the Negros blue swimming crab industry (2026–2027)" prepared by MBCCI director Willar Gallo was furnished to the media  by  MBCCI president  Juliana Carbon on  Monday, July 13.At stake is the economic survival of an industry that directly and indirectly supports more than 15,000 households and injects an estimated ₱6 billion to ₱7 billion in annual export reve...

Instead of airplanes, Coscolluela said he prefers mobilizing an army of workers on the ground to conduct focused, targeted spraying.*SRA photoFormer Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Rafael Coscolluela expressed concern over the environmental impact of a proposed Negros-wide aerial spraying of chemical pesticides to combat red-striped soft scale insects attacking sugarcane fields."On paper, aerial spraying by airplane sounds good, but let us look at its practicality," Coscolluela said on Monday."What will be its effect on communities that might become unintended victims of the spraying, since they are saying chemical pesticides will be used?" he asked.He asked how the spraying can be kept within targeted farms when there is the  wind factor that must be considered....

In a ‘blitzkrieg’ operation, sugar farmers in Bukidnon deployed an army of 40 people in teams of ten, to conduct a one-week concentrated pesticide spraying to prevent the spread of Red Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation.Donning Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) reminiscent of the COVID pandemic, these men are fighting a different battle in the fields, a pest that is hard to see by the naked eye but is now a “serious threat” for the sugar industry as it spreads through sugar cane fields in Luzon, Visayas and now in Mindanao, a press release from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA)  said Sunday, July 12.Each man carries a power sprayer with a load of 16-18 liters of pesticides and depending on the severity of the infestation and age of cane, an estimated 15 to...

United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines (UNIFED) President Manuel Lamata explains the aerial spraying plan to the media on Friday.*Ronnie Baldonado photoIt will cost approximately ₱200 million to implement an aerial pesticide spraying campaign across all sugarcane lands on Negros Island to combat the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation, United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines (UNIFED) President Manuel Lamata said on Friday, July 10.UNIFED convened a meeting with Negros Occidental mayors and their representatives at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City to discuss a unified, collective campaign against the pest.During the meeting, Lamata urged the mayors to individually declare a state of calamity within their respective local government...