• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Small farmers and barangay officials of E.B. Magalona in Negros Occidental attended a capacity-building activity July 30 as part of the continuing effort to fight the spread of red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation in the town, Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon said.
Malacon said the activity aims to inform barangay captains and kagawads, as well as small farmers, of the current RSSI situation in the municipality, and the interventions needed to curb its spread.
The mayor earlier issued an executive order, mandating barangay captains of sugar-producing villages to designate their respective RSSI focal persons, who shall assist the Municipal RSSI Task Force in the monitoring and validation of suspected or confirmed RSSI infestations, and facilitate in the timely submission of reports, among others.
“Considering the rapid spread of the infestation, which, if left unabated, will pose a serious threat to the sugar industry, there is an urgent need to institutionalize a Municipal RSSI Task Force to ensure a coordinated, timely, and effective local response,” Malacon added.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration had said that, of the 6,896 hectares of sugarcane farms in E.B. Magalona, 503 hectares were hit by RSSI in 20 of its barangays, affecting 46 farmers.
Malacon, in a press conference July 30, also said that they established a nursery in Barangay Alicante planted with a sugarcane variant that is much more resistant to RSSI.
Once the variant thrives, Malacon said they will distribute this to small farmers so that the RSSI problem could be minimized. | CGC
