BACOLOD City — The sugar industry need not fear the Asean Free Trade Agreement in 2015, said Ma. Regina Martin, administrator of Sugar Regulatory Administration.
To face the challenges of 2015, one of which is the low tariff on imported sugar, the sugar industry needs to increase its productivity and lower its costs, Martin said in a forum in Talisay City yesterday.
She assured, however, that the industry is already taking steps to achieve this.
Martin said they were currently teaching small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) to be “agri-preneurs.”
She said this means the farmers should know not only how to plant sugarcane but also “how to manage [the crop] effectively and efficiently.”
Martin said they were also encouraging ARBs with small lots to venture into block farming.
Sugarcane is a “plantation crop,” which requires at least 30 hectares to come up with a sufficient yield, she stressed.
The forum dubbed Kapihan was conducted by the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) at the Sugar Industry Foundation Office in Trafalgar Square, Talisay City.
Local partners of PEF and representatives of sugar industry foundations and cooperatives attended the forum.
The impact of AFTA will be felt not only by sugar producers but also by businesses and workers in Negros, said PEF executive director Roberto Calingo.
Calingo said the Kapihan will “provide a venue for PEF and its partners to discuss how businesses and farmers in the region can continue to develop in a low-to-zero-tariff Asean, as well as to identify means of support our partners might need.”
Last year, the sugar industry contributed P76 billion to the national economy.
PEF aims to help reduce poverty by supporting, promoting and scaling up social enterprises in communities./PN
