Negros Occidental declares calamity as sugar pest spreads

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – The province of Negros Occidental has been placed under a state of calamity due to the outbreak of the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) affecting 61,242 hectares, or 32.18% of the province’s total planted sugarcane area of 190,314.19 hectares.

The declaration followed the approval of a resolution recommended by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) and endorsed by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during its regular session on Tuesday, June 23.

The resolution stated that the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) confirmed the presence and continued spread of RSSI in various sugarcane-growing areas in the province, posing a serious threat to its sugar industry, agricultural economy, and the livelihood of thousands of sugarcane farmers, farm workers, and other stakeholders.

It also stressed that the continued spread of RSSI poses an imminent threat to the sustainability of sugar production in the province and, if left unchecked, may result in severe economic losses, disruption of agricultural activities, reduction in farmers’ income, and adverse effects on the local economy.

The RSSI, or Pulvinaria tenuivalvata, is an invasive agricultural pest that attacks sugarcane by extracting plant sap and promoting the growth of sooty mold, thereby reducing crop vigor, sugar yield, and overall productivity.

The stakes are considerable. Negros Occidental produces roughly 64% of the country’s sugar, and the SRA has warned that a 30% production loss in the province could erase about 390,000 metric tons of output, or nearly 20% of national production, translating to as much as PHP 17.5 billion in lost sales if the infestation is not contained.

The declaration is deemed necessary to enable the provincial government to access emergency funds, impose price control measures, and expedite response, recovery, and rehabilitation efforts in affected areas, given the current extent of the infestation and the continuing escalation of its adverse effects on sugarcane plantations, farmers, and the local agricultural economy.

The province first declared a state of calamity due to tropical cyclone “Crising” and an RSSI outbreak in July 2025, noting that the simultaneous occurrence of both natural and biological calamities caused massive agricultural losses, endangering food security, employment, and overall economic stability in the province.

In a media interview on Wednesday, June 24, Lacson said the RSSI infestation is a serious threat to the sugar industry.

“It’s challenging as we have experienced this last year and it came back this year,” he added.

Lacson said crop production will be hit, as RSSI is already present during the planting season, which will eventually result in low production in the next planting season and low prices.

Despite this, the governor assured that the provincial government is prepared to form a task force to address the outbreak.

“Many ideas have been brought up on how to address RSSI and we will really continue to study it,” Lacson said, stressing that monitoring the widespread infestation is important.

He, however, could not specify the budget allocated for the RSSI measures, as the province has to balance it against funds for disaster response, particularly for typhoons and floods.

On June 23, Lacson met with SRA officials headed by Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines (UNIFED) President Manuel Lamata, and other sugar industry stakeholders at the Provincial Capitol here to discuss measures against the RSSI infestation of sugarcane plantations in the province.