Lawmaker wants small farmers at sugar price hearing

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez wants small sugar farmers to be directly represented in the ongoing congressional inquiry into the declining millgate price of sugar, saying lawmakers need to hear their concerns firsthand.

Benitez said he hopes leaders of small farmers’ groups will attend the next hearing.

He said he had raised the matter with Quezon 1st District Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, and noted that his office could help subsidize plane tickets so presidents or leaders of small sugar farmers’ associations could join the discussion.

According to Benitez, one immediate concern is identifying what concrete support can be provided to small farmers.

He added that there is still no clear assistance package for them, such as subsidies and farming tools.

Benitez earlier said the next hearing would also invite traders, importers and industry partners who were absent during the first hearing last month.

“We want to hear directly from importers and industry partners to determine whether import volumes match local production, demand, and consumption,” he said.

Benitez sponsored House Resolution No. 373, which calls on the House of Representatives, through the committees on Agriculture and Food, Trade and Industry, and Labor and Employment, to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation into the plunge in millgate prices of locally produced sugar in Negros Occidental and its economic impact on producers and laborers.

During the recent hearing, Benitez said Negros Occidental remains the country’s sugar bowl, producing about 1.8 million metric tons of sugarcane annually, or more than half of national output.

“Sugar is not merely an industry in our province. It is the very foundation of our economy, our culture, and the daily survival of hundreds of thousands of families,” he said.

Benitez said that at the start of the 2024–2025 milling season, the millgate price of locally produced sugar dropped to an average of PHP 2,200 per 50-kilogram bag, nearly PHP 300 below the estimated production cost of PHP 2,500.

For many farmers, he said, that means every bag of sugar is sold at a loss.

He said the sharp decline has triggered an economic crisis for sugar planters, particularly small producers already struggling with rising fertilizer costs, increasing fuel prices and higher labor expenses.

Many of these farmers are agrarian reform beneficiaries who depend solely on sugarcane farming for their livelihood.

Benitez said industry leaders have warned that if the situation continues, poverty could worsen in rural sugar districts where more than 60% of households rely on sugarcane as their main or supplemental source of income.

He said the crisis stems from several factors, including over-importation, weakening demand for locally produced sugar because of the growing use of artificial sweeteners and chemical substitutes, rising production costs, climate and pest challenges, structural inefficiencies, and opportunistic middlemen and smuggled sugar that distort market prices.

“When sugar prices fall, so do the livelihoods of thousands of Negrosanons. This is not an abstract policy question. It is a matter of survival for real families in real communities,” he added.

He said the congressional inquiry aims to create a structured national platform to discuss these issues and develop actionable recommendations.

“We do not seek this inquiry to point fingers. We seek it because our farmers, our workers, and our communities deserve a government that listens, that acts, and that legislates with their welfare at the center,” Benitez said.

He said the first hearing was productive, but discussions must continue until concrete solutions are reached.

“It went well. But it does not end here. We have so many things to do and resolve the problem in the industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental 6th District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez said some small farmer representatives had expressed concern that their voices might not be heard in national discussions.

She said about 85% of sugar planters in the country are small planters and deserve clear updates on assistance from the Sugar Regulatory Administration.

Alvarez said she wants to know the specific programs and interventions being provided to small farmers.

Lawmakers assured stakeholders that the congressional hearings would serve not only as an inquiry but also as a consultation process to ensure farmers’ concerns are heard.