Mindanao sugar farmers form alliance
Six major sugar groups in Mindanao, led by former Bukidnon Rep. Manuel Antonio Zubiri, formed a new sugar federation to strengthen their influence in the industry. The Mindanao Federation of Sugarcane Planters aims to expand sugar farms, especially in Bukidnon, to boost local production and reduce imports. Mindanao’s sugar farmers currently contribute 17% of national production but plan to increase this significantly.
Six major sugar groups, led by former Bukidnon Rep. Manuel Antonio Zubiri, formed a new sugar federation to have a “bigger voice” in the sugar industry.
“We are the last frontier of the sugar industry and we will expand sugar farms in Mindanao until we can bridge the gap in local sugar demand needed for our country to stop importing and be self-sustainable,” Zubiri said in a statement
Last year, Mindanao increased its land area planted with sugar by about 4,000 hectares and SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona credited it for “increasing production output by about 20 percent while other areas remain stagnant or dropped.”
Mindanao, according to Zubiri, has a total of almost 79,000 hectares planted with sugar, with 59,000 hectares in Bukidnon alone.
Registering as the Mindanao Federation of Sugarcane Planters Inc., with him at its helm, we comprise more than 50 percent of sugar producers in Mindanao and we will have more numbers as Lanao and Davao will also affiliate with us, Zubiri said.
Zubiri said Mindanao sugar farmers currently contribute about 17 percent of total sugar production, but with our plan to expand, “we will be contributing more since Mindanao is the only area left where sugar plantations can still expand.”
The bulk of sugar production in the country is in Negros Island which comprises more than 60 percent of the country’s total produce, but according to Azcona, they can see minimal growth in the island with only about 16,000 hectares remaining, mostly in mountainous areas.
Zubiri presented the leaders of the six sugar associations who formed the Mindanao federation with him from the Sugarcane Grower’s Association Bukidnon (SGABI); Joselin Medalla of the Sugarcane Farmers of Bukidnon Multi Purpose Cooperative; Antonio Pizarro of the United Sugar Farmers Cooperative and the United Sugarcane Planters of Bukidnon, Inc.; and Manolito Garces of the Bukidnon Integrated Planters Association and the First Mindanao United Sugarcane Planters Association, Inc.
The groups were part of an existing sugar federation but decided to form their own in Mindanao because “we want to stop politicking and concentrate in helping grow the industry,” Zubiri said, adding that they are thankful that Azcona promised to provide direct support to Mindanaoan farmers.
“We will improve SRA’s presence in Mindanao and we will look into establishing an SRA satellite office in Bukidnon to bring our services closer to the farmers,”Azcona said to the group during a side meeting at the Philsutech Convention in Cebu City last week.
Azcona added that despite their representation through bigger sugar federations, he was surprised to hear from the farmers that they have been at the tail end of outputs from the industry’s research and development arm, as some of the farms continue to plant sugar varieties that have been discontinued by most progressive farms.
“With this development, we will make sure that our Mindanao farmers are better equipped and services are delivered timely,” Azcona said, adding that he will personally look into the possibility of setting up a Mindanao Research Center to handle high yielding variety programs.
Indeed, Mindanao may just be the last frontier of the sugar industry as they still have unlimited areas to plant sugarcane and if they can sustain their growth last year, that will be a huge contribution to our country’s sugar production, Azcona added.*
Source Link : https://visayandailystar.com/mindanao-sugar-farmers-form-alliance/
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