RECOGNIZING its positive impact especially on improving the productivity of farmers, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is pushing for more sugar block farms in the country, including Negros Occidental.
DAR Undersecretary for Support Services Rosalina Bistoyong, who was in the province last week, said they are coordinating with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) for the bid to multiply sugar block farms nationwide.
Bistoyong said the expansion will depend on the outcome of their negotiation with the SRA.
“If they (SRA) are willing to adopt the first 92 areas for sugar block farming and that we are going to identify more areas that they will also equally support, then we will go into more sugar block farms,” she said.
They cannot say yet the number of additional block farms, the DAR official said, adding that Negros Occidental remains to be the country’s leading sugar block farm province.
Of the 92 sugar block farms in the Philippines, 36 are in Negros Occidental.
Under the DAR’s sugar block farming project, small farms are consolidated so that these can be managed collectively by agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (Arbos).
Bistoyong had earlier said that sugar block farm is a relatively new project which the agency has embarked on several years ago mainly to achieve economies of scale.
Aside from establishing more sugar block farm areas, they are also pushing for increase in production of agrarian reform cooperatives and associations.
Bistoyong said the DAR, through sugar block farming, targets to increase the farmers’ production from 30 to 100 percent.
Citing the accomplishment of Hacienda Malaga Cuenca Agrarian Reform Cooperative (Macarben) in La Castellana town, Bistoyong said the organization, in a one hectare portion of its farm, was able to increase yield by 34 tons per hectare, which is from 62 tons to 96 tons per hectare.
“We will continue working with the SRA so that we’ll be able to multiply areas of farm beneficiaries benefiting more farmers also,” she added.