Sugar Board Member David Andrew Sanson, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and Rep. Emilio Yulo (2nd, 3rd and 5th from left) at the turnover of the dump trucks and farm implements to MDCC Lopez chairman Israel Telis (left) and Roger Regalado (2nd from right), block farm chairman, on Saturday.* Ronnie Baldonado photo
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Saturday, Feb. 22, distributed P101.053 million worth of dump trucks and other farm implements to mill district development councils (MDDCs) and block farm recipients in Negros Occidental.
Funded through the Sugar Industry Development Act, the distribution included 10 heavy-duty dump trucks, each valued at P7 million, in order to boost farm efficiency and increase productivity.
Seven units were allocated to MDDCs, while the remaining three were assigned to the SRA-La Granja Agricultural Research and Extension Center (LGAREC).
“Speaking from the heart of the SRA Board, we are very happy and very proud to provide our farmers, our block farms, with the best possible equipment that our government can afford,” SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said during the ceremonial turnover at the SRA-LGAREC compound in La Carlota City.
The dump trucks will be used to transport raw materials such as mudpress and vinasse fertilizers, and organic outputs for the soil rejuvenation project, benefiting small sugarcane farms and improving yield.
Additionally, 137 farm implements worth P27.406 million were distributed to block farm recipients.
A farm tractor with attachments, valued at P3.647 million, was turned over to The United Block Farm Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Small Planters Organization in the Fifth District.
“Let me take this opportunity to thank the SRA for this gift to our sugar stakeholders. With the decreasing land hectarage for sugarcane, the only way for us to go is to increase our productivity and we cannot increase our productivity without our block farms having this modern equipment,” Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo (Neg. Occ., 5th District), a former SRA board member representing the planters, said in his message.
Roger Regalado, chair of Hacienda Sto. Niño United Farmworkers Association in Victorias City, and Israel Telis, chairman of Lopez MDDC in Sagay City, received the dump trucks and farm implements on behalf of their members.
“It is our dream for every planter, every farmer, whether in block farms or the big farmers, to help you in your production and needs in sugar farming. What we ask is just good sugarcane production,” SRA Board Member David Andrew Sanson said.
The SRA’s Block Farming Program consolidates individual farms with a consolidated area of a minimum of 30 hectares within the two-kilometer radius owned by small farmers agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Under the block farm program, sugarcane production is seen to increase by 5 tons to 10 tons per hectare.*PNA