A coordinated anti-pest campaign has slashed red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestations in Luzon sugar farms, prompting growers and millers to pledge “total support” for the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
Sugar farmers and millers from Luzon met with SRA officials in Tagaytay last week to discuss the RSSI infestation in their region, which they reported is now “controlled and contained”, a SRA press release said.
Luzon Federation of Sugarcane Growers Association (LUZONFED) President Cornelio Toreja thanked the SRA, noting that RSSI cases remain “minimal” in Batangas and other sugar-producing areas across Luzon.
“Since last year, SRA has supported our Mill District Development Councils (MDDC) by providing farmers with equipment, pesticides, fertilizers, and a relentless prevention and control campaign,” Toreja said.
He attributed these coordinated activities as a primary reason why “RSSI in Luzon is controlled and contained.”
Toreja also echoed the call of other sugar groups to fully support the SRA’s anti-infestation initiatives.
“We have seen how SRA’s intervention worked to minimize infestation in our farms, and if only we set aside politics and unite as an industry, the coordinated response of SRA will ensure that no farmer and no farm is left behind in fighting this infestation,” Toreja said.
“Along with other sugar groups, we reiterate our commitment to collaborate closely with SRA in this fight against RSSI because it worked for us and continues to work for us,” he added.
For this year, Luzon has recorded a total of 233.42 hectares of standing canes infested with RSSI, affecting 128 farmers across 52 barangays. The bulk of the affected area is located in Batangas with 151 hectares, followed by Tarlac with 60.42 hectares, Camarines Sur with 13 hectares, and Isabela with nine hectares, the SRA said.
This represents a sharp decline from last year’s report, which logged 1,578.25 hectares of harvested canes affected by RSSI across Luzon, impacting 531 farmers in 168 barangays, it added.
“We have three to four months of monitoring and ensuring that our affected areas remain low before harvest season, and we need the SRA’s help and all our farmers’ cooperation to make sure it stays controlled and contained,” Toreja said.*
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