• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is eyeing the distribution of up to P10,000 in emergency cash transfer (ECT) assistance to small sugarcane farmers severely impacted by the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation across Negros Occidental.
The initiative follows the provincial government’s recent declaration of a state of calamity due to the destructive agricultural pest.
DSWD-Negros Island Region Director Arwin Razo met on Thursday, July 23 with Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to finalize plans for the aid program, following orders from DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
“We are collaborating with the provincial government on how we can extend assistance to our sugarcane farmers affected by RSSI,” Razo said, adding that they are coordinating with the local government units, Sugar Regulatory Administration, and Department of Agriculture in identifying the ECT beneficiaries.
Razo noted that the agency is targeting to start the initial distributions as soon as possible.
As social relief plans take shape, the Negros Association of Chief Executives (ACE) led by Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. is exerting efforts also to contain the spread of RSSI.
Escalante, who presided over a meeting with Negros ACE members, emphasized that treatment strategies must correspond to the severity of the infestation.
In Level 1, or moderate infestation, the direct application of biological control agents such as enzymes and beneficial bacteria propagated by the province is effective, while application of systemic chemicals is required on levels 2 and 3 (severe infestation) to reduce the RSSI population before introducing biological treatments 14 to 21 days later.
In extreme cases, farmers are even advised to cut, burn, and replant affected fields.
Escalante, however, acknowledged supply constraints regarding systemic chemicals.
In Cadiz City, he said they will invest in manual and power sprayers, and even drones to address the RSSI problem.
Escalante said they will distribute manual sprayers to small farmers and power sprayers to mid-size farms.
Addressing a proposal by sugar industry leader Manuel Lamata regarding widespread aerial spraying, Escalante said it may be impractical for small landholdings.
“Unlike in Davao, where you have contiguous 1,000-hectare plantations, a three-hectare farm here often has a residential house in the middle,” Escalante explained, adding that manual, power, and drone spraying remain the primary approaches.
Rodelio Macatula, national technical and regulatory manager of International Veterinary and Agricultural Corp., earlier addressed concerns surrounding aerial spraying.
He explained that products recommended for aerial application have been evaluated by the National Crop Protection Center and when used according to approved guidelines and permits, are safe for humans, groundwater, and beneficial insects.
Macatula added that aerial spraying offers operational advantages over conventional methods.
Meanwhile, the Negros Occidental provincial government has deployed mobile sprayers to apply Metarhizium, a fungal biological control agent designed to target RSSI without harming the surrounding ecosystem.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the operation comes 15 days after the governor issued Executive Order 26-12, which strengthened the Provincial Biosecurity Task Force for Agriculture.
“We pray for favorable weather – no rain – so we can spray Metarhizium effectively,” Diaz said.
“The provincial government, together with its stakeholders, is rolling out actual assistance and science-based interventions to help contain the spread of RSSI and mitigate its impact on the sugar industry,” he added.
Initial spraying operations are prioritizing farms operated by agrarian reform beneficiaries and smallholders who have registered through the task force’s official monitoring channels. | GPB
