• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
While expressing his reservations on aerial chemical spraying to combat the spread of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI), Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. has welcomed the biological control initiatives of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), particularly the use of beneficial fungus to suppress RSSI populations.
“We are very thankful for the SRA’s initiatives. Hopefully, the biological control program can be expanded throughout Negros Occidental,” Escalante said on Wednesday, July 8.
More than 5,000 hectares of sugarcane farms in Cadiz City were affected by RSSI infestation, with upland farmers affected most.
“I heard this biological method was successfully used in Bukidnon and Luzon to arrest the spread of RSSI. We’re hoping it will also work here because this is a major problem,” Escalante said.
The mayor noted that Cadiz City experienced RSSI infestations last year and conducted localized experiments that temporarily controlled the pest, only for it to return later.
He said chemical treatments remain too costly for many farmers, making biological control a more promising alternative.
“If we cannot stop this infestation, I don’t believe our small farmers have the financial capacity to recover. They spend all their resources on production, hoping to harvest after six months,” he said.
Escalante described the current situation as a critical period for Cadiz’s sugar industry, emphasizing the importance of finding an effective and sustainable control measure.
The mayor is also closely monitoring the effectiveness of biological control measures recently implemented on a five-hectare sugarcane farm with the assistance of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.
The biological treatment was applied last week, and officials expect to assess its effectiveness after one week.
“We are very excited about the results. Once we identify the most effective way to stop the spread of RSSI that will be the proper time to declare a state of calamity because we will already know what actions to take,” he said.
However, Escalante has expressed reservations over the proposed aerial spraying of chemicals to combat the rapidly spreading RSSI, saying public health and environmental safety must be carefully considered before such a measure is implemented.
The proposal for aerial spraying is among the key issues that will be discussed during the July 10 meeting of the Provincial RSSI Task Force convened by the SRA.
Though he acknowledged that aerial spraying may be an effective method to eradicate the pest on a province-wide scale, Escalante still pointed out that the situation in Negros Occidental differs from large plantation areas where such operations are commonly conducted.
“Many farms in the province are only one hectare or even smaller, with houses and farm animals nearby. We are talking about chemicals and we don’t yet know their possible effects on people, livestock, and the environment,” he added. | GPB
