Farmers join call for DA, SRA position on sugar import lib

As calls for the liberalization of the sugar industry heighten, more farmer groups are joining the fray in putting pressure on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to take a stand against the policy shift.

The latest to join the protest are members of the Luzon Federation (Luzonfed) under the Tatak Kalamay group, one of the biggest coalition of sugar stakeholders in the country.

Nationwide, the three biggest sugar-producing provinces are Batangas, Bukidnon and Negros.

Luzonfed chief Arnel Toreja said in a statement that thousands of sugar farmers in Luzon were getting “restless” in the face of the “deafening silence” of the two agencies, as mentioned by Sen. Miguel Zubiri in a Senate hearing last week.

The proposal to deregulate sugar trade in lieu of imposing tariffs is being put forward by the Department of Finance (DOF). In a statement, the DOF said liberalizing the industry would “allow for more transparent, competitive pricing and allow downstream industries to become more viable and grow fast as their Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) counterparts.”

However, industry groups said this would only destroy the local industry that had yet to benefit from the sugar industry development act—a three-year-old legislation that aimed to modernize the sector by providing infrastructure, modernization and scholarships.

Since the proposal, both Agriculture Secretary William Dar and SRA chief Hermenegildo Serafica have kept mum, although the Tatak Kalamay group has already gotten the support of select allies in the Senate.

“We have been told that our new DA secretary has close ties with the economic managers, but we continue to believe that over and above that, his heart remains in protecting the agriculture industry as that is what he is known for as an agricultural expert,” Toreja said.

“It is time for the SRA head to flex his muscles and show us some semblance of leadership … If you (Serafica) do not have it in you to protect the very industry that you vowed to serve, then it’s time to hang your hat and give it to someone who can truly lead the sugar industry,” he added.