MANILA – The Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations, Inc. (Confed) has recommended several proposals, an offshoot of a consultative workshop set in February 2020, to address the challenges faced by the sugar industry, including import liberalization.
The proposals, in a form of a resolution, recommend programs to improve productivity, revisit the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA), seek the full restoration of its P2-billion budget, and enhance the institutional and political structure of the industry.
Under increasing productivity, Confed is pushing for the expansion and providing support for the “block farm” program; mechanization through funds from SIDA and the Department of Agriculture (DA); mill upgrade and standardization as well as value-adding for mills through biotechnology and product diversification; and mobilizing “progressive sugarcane farmers” as farm consolidators, service providers or peer mentors.
Block farming is a consolidation of small farms taking advantage of the plantation scale production. It aims to improve productivity especially on sugarcane and coconut farms owned by agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Confed spokesman Raymond Montinola, in a statement on Thursday, said there is also an “imperative need for additional support on research and development, not only in developing and propagating new varieties that can withstand weather and soil challenges but on technology that can make farms more efficient.”
The group is also pushing for a review of the SIDA law and the implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
It also urges the streamlining of application process, speed up fund utilization, fast-track program implementation, and adjusts fund allocation formula based on determined industry priorities.
Nicholas Ledesma, president of Confed Negros-Panay chapter, in a statement, said there have been numerous complaints from farmers of “very tedious” compliance in accessing programs provided for by the SIDA law.
“The need to streamline processes must be addressed urgently as this has led to underutilization of the SIDA fund which, in turn, hampers our plan to modernize and improve on our productivity,” he said.
Confed added there is a great need to enhance the industry’s stature and manage negative perceptions by projecting a “new and more positive image.”
“The industry has always been at the receiving end when retail prices of sugar go up which is why, one of our urgent recommendation is to undertake direct sugar marketing to address this issue,” Montinola said. (PNA)
