Store workers attend to customers buying sugar at their stall in Bagong Silang public market in North Caloocan on January 19, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Wednesday said it plans to implement sugarcane block farms as part of its program to improve sugar production.
SRA acting administrator and chief executive officer (CEO) Pablo Luis Azcona said block farms are groups of 30 hectares or more of sugarcane. In contrast, 90 percent of sugarcane farmers have only one to 2 hectares at present.
Azcona said initial tests on existing sugarcane block farms showed production improved "5 to 10 tons per hectare."
"This way po we can modernize them, we can give them equipment, we can give them assistance," Azcona said in a public briefing on its importance.
"At the same time po iyong SRA ay nagri-release ng bagong high-yielding varieties for our farmers as well. So iyong thrust talaga ng SRA ngayon is improvement of production," he added.
Aside from this, the SRA chief said they would delay milling until September 1 to "give time for the sugarcane to be more mature and improve the sugar content."
He added that the Philippines must produce 2.4 to 2.5 million metric tons of sugar to be called self-sufficient.
As of May 14, 2023, the Philippines has produced 1.9 million metric tons of raw sugar, based on the SRA's Sugar Supply and Demand Situation.
"Yung thrust natin talaga is how to make the farmers improve their production kasi po [ang] farm size natin maliliit – one to two hectares lang compared to the other countries," he said.
"That’s why we need to consolidate the small farmers into cooperatives and give them all the assistance that they need."