THE Department of Agriculture (DA) and Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) released the P240 million first batch of approved assistance for sugarcane farmers from the Presidential Assistance for Farmers (PAFF).
The distribution was held at Victorias City, Negros Occidental on April 16, 2026, in the presence of Third District Representative Javier Miguel Benitez along with DA-Negros Island Region Director Albert Barrogo, and Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona.
Of the P240 million approved assistance benefiting 102,237 farmers, 70,415 of them are from Visayas, of which 56,400 are from the Negros Island Region (NIR), accounting for more than 60 percent of the country’s sugar producers.
Azcona said the much-needed assistance for sugar farmers is another first, as sugar farmers are usually not included in assistance programs.
He said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the assistance for these farmers registered with the DA/SRA/Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
“For this, I am very thankful to the President, to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel, and to Congressman Benitez for including this appeal in his privilege speech," Azcona said.
The initial releasing in Victorias City includes 1,469 farmers, followed by another group in Murcia on April 17.
In the Third District of Negros Occidental, a total of 13,588 farmers have been identified as beneficiaries of the program. (MAP)
