• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
In response to the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to boost productivity in the sugar industry, sugar producers and millers have submitted a joint proposal which contains measures to improve farm productivity and mill efficiency.
The measures call for amendments to the Sugarcane Industry Development Act (SIDA) of 2015, particularly the increase in annual SIDA funding from P2 billion to P5 billion, the creation of a dedicated SRA-SIDA Program Management Structure focused on the implementation of SIDA-mandated programs, and the institutionalization of the Stakeholders’ Consultative Assembly (SCA) and Sugar Industry Development Council (SIDC).
The SIDA mandates an annual allocation of P2 billion for the sugar industry’s productivity improvement programs, as follows: 50 percent for infrastructure support; 15 percent for grants to block farms; 15 percent for socialized credit for farm support and farm mechanization programs; 15 percent for research and development, capability building and technology transfer activities; and 5 percent for scholarship grants.
Under the group’s proposal, the annual SIDA fund should be increased to P5 billion, broken down as follows: 40 percent (P2 billion) for Farm Productivity Improvement, 20 percent (P1 billion) for Mill Efficiency Improvement, 20 percent (P1 billion) for Infrastructure Support (Farm-to-Market Roads & Bridges), and 20 percent (P1 billion) for Cane-Transport Systems Upgrading.
Aurelio Valderrama Jr. of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations (CONFED), Enrique Rojas of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP), Danilo Abelita of the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (PANAYFED), and Atty. Jesus Barrera of the Philippine Sugar Millers Association (PSMA) signed the joint position paper, which they will submit to lawmakers and officials of the Department of Agriculture.
The House Committee on Agriculture and Food, chaired by Rep. Wilfredo Mark Enverga will hold a public hearing on August 8 at the Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, in connection with the proposed amendments to RA 10659, or the SIDA Act of 2015.
Sugar producers also pushed for the creation of a full-time SRA-SIDA Program Management Structure to enable efficient, timely and effective implementation of programs with clear lines of responsibility.
NFSP, CONFED, PANAYFED and PSMA also proposed the institutionalization of the Stakeholders’ Consultative Assembly (SCA) and Sugar Industry Development Council (SIDC).
The SCA shall be composed of SRA-accredited representatives from participating and/or concerned sectors, and shall be consulted on the revision of SIDA Implementing Rules and Regulations, and the promulgation of policies and regulations directly affecting the industry.
On the other hand, the SIDC shall be composed of industry experts and reputable stakeholder institutions (and consultants when allowed and necessary) under the direction of SRA, to review and assist in the formulation of Plans, Programs, Policies and Industry Development Strategies.*
