BACOLOD City – To boost farm efficiency and increase productivity in Negros Occidental, mill district development councils (MDDCs) and block farm beneficiaries received around P101 million worth of dump trucks and other farm implements on Saturday, February 22.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration, led by Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and Board Member David Andrew Sanson, led the turnover ceremony at SRA-La Granja Agricultural Research and Extension Center (LGAREC) in La Carlota City.
Also present was former SRA board member representing the planters, 5th District’s Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo.
The 10 dump trucks are for MDDCs. SRA said it will be used to transport raw materials such as mudpress and vinasse fertilizers, and organic outputs for the soil rejuvenation project, benefiting small sugarcane farms and improving yield.
A total of 137 farm implements worth of P27,406,800 are intended for block farm recipients.
Moreover, P3,647,000 worth of farm tractors were turned over to the United Block Farm Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Small Planters Organization in the 5th District.
Azcona said the farm equipment was funded under the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA).
“We are very happy and very proud to provide our farmers, our block farms, with the best possible equipment that our government can afford,” he added.
Meanwhile, the SRA’s Block Farming Program consolidates individual farms with a consolidated area of a minimum of 30 hectares within the two-kilometer radius owned by small farmers agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Under the block farm program, sugarcane production is seen to increase by 5 tons to 10 tons per hectare. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency)
