BACOLOD CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA) 6 (Western Visayas) has supported the bid of the Negros Occidental provincial government to diversify its agriculture sector to cushion the effects of the proposed sugar import liberalization and other industry woes.
DA-6 Director Remelyn Recoter, during the Negros First Transformative Agriculture Summit on Thursday, said their agency can assist in the implementation of a potential conversion through the provision of both soft and hard support.
Recoter said soft support includes seeds, planting materials, training and research, while hard support covers irrigation, farm mechanization, farm-to-market roads, and other farm infrastructure.
The Province of Negros Occidental conducted the Negros First Transformative Agriculture Summit in Talisay City on Thursday (Jan. 31, 2019) to craft a five-year agriculture development plan amid the woes faced by the sugar industry.
Photo courtesy of Negros Occidental Capitol PIO
“These are the areas where we can work on,” she added.
Diversification is one of the main components of the five-year agriculture development plan crafted during the summit held at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City.
The province plans to reduce by 30,000 hectares its total land area of about 189,000 hectares devoted to sugarcane, and diversify into other crops, such as yellow corn, rice, high-value crops (HVC), and tropical fruits.
Former governor Rafael Coscolluela, provincial consultant on investment promotions, export, and trade development, said the biggest area for diversification is intended for yellow corn at 15,000 hectares.
Yellow corn is needed for livestock and poultry sector of the province.
The remaining 15,000 hectares will be equally converted to rice, HVC with integrated poultry and livestock, and tropical fruits or 5,000 hectares for each crop.
Coscoluella said the conversion area of 30,000 hectares is just a target, and the provincial government can still be ambitious if there is a potential for other crops.
“Ultimately, the deciding factor is profitability so we will go where there is higher profit,” he said, adding that the major challenge is how to encourage planters and farmers to diversify.
Recoter said that diversification would not mean “forgetting” the sugar industry, considered as the lifeblood of the province, which is the country’s top sugar producer.
She said Negros Occidental will still be a sugar-producing province.
Western Visayas, mostly Negros Occidental, contributes 55 percent to the Philippines’ PHP96-billion sugar industry.
The DA official also said the Sugar Regulatory Administration has programs on increasing the yield despite the reduction of areas devoted to sugarcane.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-6 is also banking on the diversification plan to prepare the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) on the possible adverse effects of the proposed sugar import liberalization.
DAR-6 Regional Director Stephen Leonidas said on the sidelines of the summit that under their agency’s effort alone, there are about 100 hectares of agrarian areas in the province utilized for organic farming, vegetable, rice and corn farming, and livestock growing.
Leonidas said the ARBs are gradually shifting to other crops so they will not be adversely affected.
“We are preparing for that whatever effects, negative or positive, to our ARBs,” he said.
Negros Occidental has larger ARB-covered areas compared to other provinces in the country.
Leonidas said the sugar import deregulation would impact both big planters and small farmers, including ARBs.
An open-market importation would result in competition among local and foreign products, he added.
“Given the lower price of local sugar, it would be difficult for ARBs to compete as they are not yet ready,” the DAR official said.
In Negros Occidental, the average area for ARBs is one to 1.5 hectares per farmer. There are about 74,000 ARBs in the southern part of the province alone. (PNA)
Stories from the Sugarlandia 