The Sugar Regulatory Administration is submitting a proposal for P10 million in assistance from the Department of Agriculture to curb the spread the highly destructive red-striped soft-scale insects (RSSI) that have hit sugar farms in 11 towns and cities in Negros Occidental.
It was agreed during a meeting on Friday that the SRA proposal for P10 million will be submitted to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Negros Island Region DA Regional Director Jose Albert Barrogo said on Monday, May 26.
They also agreed on the creation of an inter-agency task force to be led by the SRA, he added.
Barrogo said they also discussed the DA’s immediate provision of insecticide to eliminate the RSSI “but we are still checking on the availability of the chemicals in Region 6, since our buffer stock is intended only for rice and corn”.
The DA will lend its disinfectant vehicle to do the massive application of insecticide once available, he said.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona in an advisory sent to local officials last week said industry stakeholders were being informed that the RSSI has been monitored in 11 LGUs in Negros Occidental covering 87 hectares and can rapidly spread from one field to another if not contained.
“These pests pose a significant threat to our crops and can affect yield, which in general can also affect the production of the entire sugar industry,” he said.
The sugar farms with slight to severe infestation are in Silay City, Talisay City, EB Magalona, Victorias City, Manapla, Cadiz City and Toboso in the north, La Carlota City, La Castellana and Bago City in the south and Murcia in central Negros.*