• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental is now under a state of calamity due to the outbreak and continuing spread of the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation in sugarcane plantations.
The state of calamity declaration was approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during its regular session on Tuesday following the recommendation of Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who chairs the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), according to First District Board Member Marxlen de la Cruz.
Of the 190,314.19 hectares of sugarcane plantations in Negros Occidental, the PDRRMC reported that 61,242 hectares were affected by RSSI, which represents 32.18 percent of the province’s total sugarcane areas, based on the reports of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) as of June 23.
The continued spread of RSSI poses an imminent threat to the sustainability of sugar production in Negros Occidental, and, if left unchecked, may result in severe economic losses, disruption of agricultural activities, reduction in farmers’ income, and adverse effects on the local economy, according to authorities.
The provincial government of Negros Oriental is set to place the province under a state of calamity following the continued spread of the RSSI, Governor Manuel Sagarbarria said on Tuesday.
Sagarbarria also announced that he will create a provincial task force that will focus on containing the pest outbreak and allocate P15 million for the immediate procurement of pesticides and other response measures.
“We want pesticides to be cheap, directly accessible, and readily available to farmers,” the governor stressed.
Sagarbarria said that Mabinay and Bayawan City will also declare a state of calamity as he also asked the support of Tanjay City, where the infestation rate of RSSI is very high.
Some sugarcane farms in Manjuyod and Pamplona were also hit by RSSI.
Sagarbarria said that placing Negros Oriental under a state of calamity will be made through an executive order that he will issue.
The SRA reported that the RSSI infestation has expanded to 16,576 hectares of sugarcane farms across the Visayas.
The Negros Island Region remains the hardest hit, accounting for 16,019.16 hectares of affected plantations.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, who briefed Sagarbarria and other Negros Oriental officials on the extent of RSSI damage to sugarcane farms, said that the response should not be limited to individual provinces because the infestation easily spreads across interconnected sugarcane areas.
“We cannot do this on a province-wide approach only since borders are interconnected. It is very hard to control if we are divided because RSSI spreads along sugarcane points,” Azcona said.
United Sugar Producers’ Federation of the Philippines president Manuel Lamata thanked Sagarbarria for acting with urgency, saying swift intervention is crucial to prevent further damage to the sugar industry. | GPB
