The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is urging local government units (LGUs) across Negros Island to help validate the extent of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation, noting that additional manpower is needed to assess the scope of the pest outbreak.
Agriculturist II Mikko Libo-on of SRA said July 16 that the agency’s limited staff have slowed validation efforts, raising the possibility that the actual affected area is larger than the currently confirmed figures.
“The figures may be higher as the SRA has limitations in the validation due to a lack of manpower,” Libo-on said.
He said that SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona has appealed to LGUs to mobilize their municipal and city agriculturists to support field validation. “Our administrator has called on the LGUs to mobilize their agriculturists to help us validate the extent of the RSSI infestation.”
Data obtained by the Philippine News Agency from the SRA showed that 16,970 hectares of sugarcane plantations in Negros Oriental have been affected by the sap-sucking pest, out of the province’s 48,901.43 total hectares planted with sugarcane.
However, only 1,974.63 hectares have been validated by the SRA, to date.
The validated data indicate that 688 farmers across 77 barangays have been affected by the infestation.
Among the affected areas, Mabinay recorded the largest reported infestation, with 4,788 hectares affected out of 11,120.84 hectares of sugarcane plantations. The town has 389 affected farmers across 20 barangays.
The RSSI infestation has also been reported in 15 of Negros Oriental’s 25 LGUs, including the cities of Canlaon, Guihulngan, Bayawan, Bais, and Tanjay, and the municipalities of Vallehermoso, Basay, Mabinay, Ayungon, Jimalalud, Tayasan, Pamplona, Amlan, Manjuyod, and Bindoy.
Earlier, Azcona and other SRA officials met with Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria to seek support for declaring a state of emergency in the province, a step that would allow the use of calamity funds to contain the spread of the infestation.
The SRA is also advocating a unified, island-wide response to combat the spread of the RSSI across sugarcane plantations in Negros. ||
