By CESAR JOLITO III
The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) mobile pesticide sprayer will continue its deployment across various local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental in the coming days to contain the spread of the red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI) in sugarcane fields.
DA-Negros Island Region Director Jose Albert Barrogo confirmed that the mobile sprayer was already deployed in the cities of La Carlota and Cadiz last week.
Its next scheduled stop is Sagay City on Tuesday, July 1.
Under this partnership, the DA provides the spraying vehicle while the LGUs shoulder the cost of pesticides and fuel.
“If the DA has available pesticides, we give it to them,” Barrogo said.
Although the infestation has now affected 2,027.79 hectares of sugarcane plantations — with 1,980.44 hectares in Negros Occidental — no LGU in the province has declared a state of calamity so far, Barrogo noted.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) reported that 18 areas in Negros Occidental are grappling with the pest infestation.
These include the cities of La Carlota, Bago, Talisay, Silay, Victorias, Cadiz, Sagay, and Escalante; the municipalities of La Castellana, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, Murcia, Don Salvador Benedicto, E.B. Magalona, Manapla, Toboso, and Calatrava; as well as capital Bacolod City.
Other provinces affected by the RSSI outbreak are neighboring Iloilo province with 24.75 hectares, and Capiz with 19.1 hectares affected.
The DA and SRA continue to monitor affected areas closely and are coordinating with LGUs to mitigate the infestation’s impact on the sugar industry./CJ, WDJ