Monday, December 11, 2017

The Negros Farm Workers and Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Producer Federation has commended Rep. Alfredo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) for filing a House resolution, and acting promptly on its call to investigate the continuous drop in the prices of sugar, its press release said.

The resolution calls on the appropriate committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, of the continuous drop in the mill gate prices of domestic sugar.

NEFARB said if the House investigation will prosper into a positive resolution to the sugar industry problem, “this will be a whopping relief for the 60,000 small and medium sugarcane planters that are enduring a devastating effect of the low sugar prices since the start of the milling season for crop year 2017-18”.

“Still, we must prepare for the worst because of uncontrolled market forces that dictate the prices of commodities under the free trade regime of liberalized economy entered into by the Philippine government”, the press release said.

“We call on all the stakeholders to be vigilant on this last stretch of the milling season. If the price of sugar is not rewarding for us small and medium planters, we will be compelled to discontinue sugarcane farming. And we will demand for a government bailout to diversify,” it added.

The group also called on all Negros solons to support its bailout proposal that is similar to Republic Act 7202, or the Sugar Restitution Law, the press release added.*