PRICEY COMMODITY Retailers sell repacked washed sugar at Tandang Sora Public Market in Quezon City in this file photo. — INQUIRER
BACOLOD CITY — Majority of the sugar producers and millers signed a joint proposal Wednesday, January 11, on measures to improve farm productivity and mill efficiency in response to the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to boost productivity in the sugar industry.
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 Sugar Regulatory Administration (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).
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 Jesus Barrera of the Philippine Sugar Millers Association (PSMA) signed the joint position paper, which they will submit to congressmen, senators and agriculture officials.
The CONFED, NFSP, PANAYFED and PSMA represent a substantial majority of sugar producers and millers in the country, a statement from the group said.
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 and bridges), and 20 percent (P1 billion) for Cane-Transport Systems Upgrading.
The 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.
Program Management Teams headed by Project Management Officers under an Sugar Regulatory Administration-SIDA Program Coordinator should be hired to manage the different program components. The SRA administrator should perform overall supervision of SIDA programs, and submit required performance or accomplishment reports to concerned agencies, the proposal said.
The group is also proposing 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.
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