Fund for sugar industry

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Rep. Alfredo Benitez (Neg. Occ, 3 rd District) has revealed that the 2016 Annual Appropriation Act contains P2 billion to fund the Philippine sugarcane industry and that he is pushing for an additional P10 billion for farm to market roads.

Benitez is the author of the House Bill that became the Sugarcane Industry Development Act which already contains the automatic appropriation of P2 billion. Of this fund half will go to infrastructure in support of the industry, the other half for research, scholarship and socialized credit lending to farmers. This fund is clearly inadequate for the needs of the industry. By adding P10 billion, the industry will have P11 billion for infrastructure alone.

The industry had been apprehensive that the opening of the Philippines to cheaper sugar imports in accord with the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement will be unable to compete primarily due to higher production cost.

The price of sugar has remained high because no importation has been allowed but this ban cannot hold forever as this will violate the AFTA. The Sugar Regulatory Administration data show that production has been declining through these last three years and surplus from earlier crop years had been exhausted.

Sugar smuggling has been filling up the slack in domestic supply threatening the viability of the industry. The fund input will greatly help the industry in proving the means to attain higher farm productivity, less cost of transport, improve mill efficiency, develop new products from the cane and diversify the industry to maximize profitability.

Many government funds have been wasted as the many programs and projects that failed show. The industry is one of the most organized of the agricultural sector and is more productive in using meager resources if given the opportunity to have a direct involvement in government programs. They know their problems and the direct impact on their farms.

The Sugarcane Industry Development Act has provided for farmers organizations in the mill districts. These funds can be more efficiently spent if the government gives these organizations a direct hand in the formulation, implementation and assessment of programs for the industry. This means wider latitude and easier access to the Sugarcane Industry Development Fund.*