By: Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The Confederation of Sugar Producers (CONFED) asked the Department of Agriculture to conduct a performance audit as part of its recommendation to the House committee hearing on sugar import liberalization today.
In a statement, CONFED also asked the DA to include the review of the organizational structure of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in order to streamline its function as the governing agency of the sugar industry.
“To this day our concern is for SRA to establish primarily a calibrated import program that will tidy us up while we are getting our acts together in attainable and sustained solution for our domestic sugar production,” CONFED spokesperson Raymond Montinola said.
He also said that “relative to the scheduled Committee Hearing at the Lower House on sugar import liberalization as per House Resolution No. 412, we are taking this opportunity to thank the efforts of our Legislators in asking government to stop the sugar liberalization.”
Montinola said CONFED agrees that the country must not only dwell in stopping the sugar liberalization as proposed by the Economic Managers but use it as a stepping stone in providing the necessary solutions for the sugar industry to address the domestic production.
“CONFED submits its recommendation for the proposed consultative workshop to address the issues and concerns of the sugar industry. We reiterate through our resolution that government provide the necessary oversight function for the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) and hopefully re-establish the P2-billion fund as originally set in the law.”
Montinola added that consolidation of small farmers is among the suggestion of CONFED to re-tool the sugar farming back into its ideal state as a plantation crop for better Production and fund management through economies of scale.
“We look forward for government to provide easy access to support services, financing, mill upgrading and standardization utilizing ‘progressive farmers’ as partners in the ‘Block Farming.’
CONFED commits itself in working with government, especially the DA and SRA without prejudice to personalities involved in the endeavor to provide a sustainable livelihood for our stakeholders in general, Montinola added.
