The Sugar Regulatory Administration released about P54 million in cash and tractors to 13 block farms in Negros Occidental on Friday, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said.
The P54 million comes from the P1.4 billion allocated from the 2023-2024 Sugar Industry Development Act fund for 261 block farms that have already been organized nationwide, he said.
The 261 block farms cover 10,600 hectares of sugarcane fields.
He said each block farm will be allocated about P4.5 million to P5 million in cash and equipment depending on their size.
Azcona said over and above that the block farms will be given planting materials, technical assistance, fertilizers chemicals and irrigation equipment depending on their needs.
On Friday the 13 Negros Occidental block farms with 457 farmer-members received P1.950 million each in start up capital for a total of P25,350,000 and tractors worth
P2.2M each for a total of P28,600,000, Azcona said.*