“The farmer always comes first. Without the farmer, we will not have a sugar industry.”
Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona said that was the marching order given to him by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel when he was appointed to head the SRA two years ago.
Azcona delivered the message during the opening program of the Philippine Sugar Technologists Association Inc. (PHILSUTECH) Technology Transfer and Farm Tour at the Planta Centro Hotel, Bacolod City, recently.
Organized by the Philsutech Agriculture and Farm Engineering Division, the annual Farm Tour features updates on researches involving high-yielding sugarcane varieties, use of latest technologies in sugarcane farming, and various sugarcane cultivation practices which are cost-efficient and can boost production.
The SRA Administrator thanked Philsutech for leading the way in introducing technological advances and pioneering innovations to boost productivity and cut costs.
“From the SRA side, we are dedicated to provide you with as much knowledge and help as we can. We are proud to announce that, finally, our laboratories in Bacolod and La Granja now have the top-of-the-line soil analysis machines running and being calibrated. We are proud that the sugar industry has it, and it is the only industry which has such machines in Negros Island,” Azcona said.
He added that the SRA will procure two more machines for Luzon and for Mindanao, in addition to SRA’s existing soil analysis machines. He stressed that this move is in line with the main thrust of the DA and SRA, which is the rejuvenation of the soil, because the farmer cannot do anything without healthy soil.
Azcona said the SRA is working on a program for small-scale irrigation systems (shallow tube wells) for small farmers. SRA is also pushing for the use of high-yielding sugarcane varieties, the modernization/mechanization in sugarcane farming, and the improvement of mill efficiency to boost the industry’s production, Azcona said.
About 100 participants from sugar-producing provinces in the country joined the Philsutech Farm Tour.
Sugarcane farmers from Mindanao made up almost half of the participants, bannered by farmers from the Sugarcane Growers Association of Bukidnon (SGABI)/ Sugarcane Farmers of Bukidnon Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SFB-MPC) with 23 participants, Bukidnon Integrated Planters Association (BIPA) with 20 and United Sugarcane Planters of Bukidnon Association (USPBA) / United Sugarcane Farmers Agricultural Cooperative (USFACO) with 12.*