• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Fifth District Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo III is calling for the creation of a permanent inter-agency body to address the growing threat posed by the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI), warning that the infestation is no longer a seasonal concern but an annual and recurring problem affecting the sugar industry.
Yulo said the magnitude of the RSSI infestation has already reached almost province-wide proportions and could eventually spread across the entire Negros Island if not immediately contained.
“The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) cannot do it alone,” Yulo said, stressing that the agency may lack the necessary manpower, logistics, and resources needed to arrest the spread of the pest at the earliest possible time.
While the SRA has already organized an inter-agency task force, the lawmaker said he believes a more permanent mechanism is needed to coordinate responses among national agencies, the provincial government, local government units (LGUs), and even barangay officials.
“We call for the involvement of the provincial government, LGUs, and down to the barangay level. Our efforts should be concerted and deliberate,” he said.
Yulo urged Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to take the lead in coordinating a province-wide response, noting that the infestation could evolve into more than just an agricultural issue.
“This is not just an agricultural problem. After a while, this could become an economic and social order problem,” he warned.
Yulo, a former SRA board member, said he is ready to assist in addressing the crisis and noted that experts from the National Crop Protection Center recently visited the Fifth District.
However, he emphasized that district-level efforts alone will not be enough because the infestation has already crossed local government boundaries.
“If only one locality works on its program, what happens to the next?” Yulo asked.
As of June 11, the SRA reported that RSSI infestation had already affected 4,605 hectares of sugarcane farms across the Visayas.
Negros Occidental recorded the largest affected area at 2,429.62 hectares, followed by Negros Oriental with 797.71 hectares.
The alarming spread prompted the Department of Agriculture to direct the SRA to mass-produce a naturally occurring fungus that can help suppress the pest population.
The sap-sucking insect can reduce sugar content in infected sugarcane by as much as 50 percent, significantly affecting farm productivity and farmers’ incomes. | GPB
