SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona on top of the donated deep planting planters machine with Japanese officials led by Japan Minister for Economic Affairs Yokota Naobumi (2nd from right), JIRCAS President Yokota Naobumi (4th from left) and SRA Board Member Dave Andrew Sanson (right).* SRA photo
The launching of Green Asia +, a collaborative project between the Philippines and Japan heralded the turnover to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) of deep planting planters and partial deep tillage machines for sustainable sugarcane production in the country in a ceremony held Monday at the SRA headquarters in Quezon City.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona who received the two machines that will be deployed in sugar producing areas in Mindanao and Luzon thanked the Japanese government for extending help to the Philippine sugar industry, a press release from the SRA said.
“We have seen the results of the deep planting technology that was tested in two SRA sites, Pampanga and Negros Occidental, and compared to the traditional method of planting sugar canes, using the Japanese technology has improved production in a very big way and will be a lot of help to farmers who will use this technique particularly with the advent of the Super El Nino,” Azcona said.
Japan, through the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) has been collaborating with SRA through research, transfer of technology, and turnover of equipment as part of their project Green Asia which works towards enhancing production potentials and sustainable food systems in the region since 2022.
Japan Minister for Economic Affairs Yokota Naobumi who led the ceremonial kick-off meeting of Green Asia + said the event is “especially meaningful as this year marks the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines.”
“Over the past seven decades, our two countries have built a strong and enduring partnership across many fields. Among these, agriculture has remained a key pillar of our cooperation, driven by our shared commitment to strengthening food security, improving productivity, and promoting resilient and sustainable innovations,” the minister added.
Japan and the Philippines share many agricultural characteristics, including high temperatures, humidity, rice-based farming systems and the presence of small and medium-scale farmers. Our countries also face common challenges, particularly our vulnerability to natural disasters. This initiative is a strong example of how our bilateral partnership has evolved into practical collaboration, bringing together our respective strengths to address shared challenges and develop shared solutions, he said.
JIRCAS President Yokota Naobumi said their project supports the use and wider adoption of scalable technologies in agriculture, forestry and fisheries which were developed in Japan and through international collaboration.
Hasegawa said that beyond demonstrating the effectiveness of the technology transfer, it is also vital to know “whether this is practical and acceptable for farmers and what challenges may arise around profitability and adoption at scale.”
In its report, SRA’s Su Manager III of Research and Development Extension for Luzon and Mindanao Engr. Laverne Olalia said that results of the deep planting technology have been favorable in all project sites in Luzon and Negros Occidental since its establishment in 2024.
Compared to conventional manual planting of cane, the deep planting technology has proven to be fast and efficient and requires minimal labor with the use of partial plowing machine and deep planter machines produced by YANMAR, a Japanese firm that donated the equipment.
Deep planting technology imbeds canes in the ground by almost a foot, compared to conventional farming which plants canes by about 10-20 centimeters only.
Olalia said that canes planted using the deep planting technology showed resilience against drought showed higher growth compared to those manually planted in the traditional way.
What is probably more significant is increased yield which on its first crop year increased by more than 16 percent, equivalent to a potential income increase of P56,350 per hectare, Olalia said, adding that on its second year, the ratoonability of the canes from deep planting technology were more steadfast and yield further increased to 25 percent with a potential income gain of P74,750 per hectare.
Olalia said that the expanded program will help them reach more farmers for technology transfer and access to mechanization thereby improving production. *
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