Agriculture/Commodities Govt urged to trim volume of sugar imports

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

AGROUP of sugar producers is urging the government to limit the proposed import program to just 350,000 metric tons (MT), and to ensure that planters and industrial users will get equal allocation.

I n a series of letters to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), the Confederation of Sugar Producers (Confed) proposed changes to the sugar import program of the government.

T he group recommended a 50:50 volume allocation for industrial users and producers and pushed for the participation of all interested accredited sugar traders in the import program. We reiterate our position that the importation program should be implemented in an open, transparent and equitable manner,” the group said in its letter.

T he group said total import volume should be adjusted to 350,000 MT (300,000 MT refined sugar and 50,000 MT raw sugar) instead of the 450,000 MT earlier announced by some government officials.

It added that imports should arrive in two tranches: 175,000 MT in July or after the current crop year’s milling season and 175,000 MT in August or before the next milling season.

T he group also urged SRA to adopt “transparent” import guidelines and to allow sugar producers and other interested accredited sugar traders to participate in the import program.

Sugar farmers and millers, through their federations, associations or cooperatives which are accredited sugar traders, or through other accredited sugar traders, should be qualified to apply for and import their allocation of 50 percent of the proposed volume,” it said.

T he group said the import allocation for sugar producers should be based on their share in the total sugar output in crop year 2021-2022. Meanwhile, industrial users’ import volume allocation should be pro-rated and should be subjected to usual SRA requirements, such as excise tax or VAT payments, among others.

All applications for importation should be submitted within five days upon the effectivity of the appropriate Sugar Order allowing the importation,” the group said.

“A ll submitted applications should be opened at the end of the five days, and then published and made available to all applicants.”

Confed said the SRA should complete the evaluation and the awarding of import allocation within 10 days after the deadline of the import applications.

L ast month, Manila announced that it is mulling over the purchase of as much as 450,000 MT of imported raw and refined sugar to further beef up its supply and temper retail prices.

Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) board member Pablo Azcona, who represents the sugarcane planters, said the Palace has recommended the importation of 400,000 MT to 450,000 MT of sugar to ensure that the country will have a two-month buffer stock.

A zcona said the bulk of the imported sugar would be refined while part of the volume would constitute raw sugar since some refiners have requested to be allowed to import raw stocks. There are recommendations to import from the refiners group. They are requesting to import but for arrival later this year. A little bit of raw sugar so that they can start their refineries early,” he said. Despite the recommendation to import sugar, Azcona said he still does not believe that the country is suffering from a “physical shortage” of the sweetener.

This importation program is normal. Every year, for the last 30 years, we usually import after our sugarcane harvest. There is always a shortfall that is needed to be filled until the next harvest, which is usually from June to October. That is the vacuum for our local production.”

Declaration of Tawi-Tawi as seaweed capital of PHL sought ARBs receive individual e-titles under World Bank-funded project

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—A Bangsam- oro lawmaker is seeking the declaration of Tawi-Tawi as the seaweed capital of the Philippines and is pushing for adequate government support for residents who rely on the marine product for their livelihood.

Tawi-Tawi is regarded as the biggest producer of seaweed in the Philippines but its production techniques remain crude and many of its population still live below poverty line.

Member of Parliament Eddie Alih has introduced the proposal on first reading in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the interim Bangsamoro Parliament.

A s one of the authors of BTA Bill No. 101, he said seaweed farming has become the primary source of income for thousands of coastal households in the province and provides the bulk of the country’s seaweed exports. He noted that many farmers continue to live at subsistence level while tending to the seaweed industry in Tawi-Tawi.

“In support to the economic development of the province and promotion of the culture and traditions of the people, it is hereby declared the Tawi-Tawi to be the seaweed capital of the Philippines,” the bill’s introduction read.

T he Philippine Statistics Au - thority said the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was the country’s primary fishery contributor in the second quarter of 2022, when output reached 346,421 metric tons (MT), or 28.6 percent of the country’s total production.

T he island provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, and Basilan have significantly contributed to BARMM’s fisheries production, the majority of which comes from aquaculture.

FAO crafts 10-year global initiative to fight antimicrobial resistance

THE Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said it is currently preparing a 10-year global initiative to reduce the need for antimicrobials in agrifood systems.

FAO said it has also developed the first version of the International FAO Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring IT plaform to address existing information gap in agrifood systems.

Agrifood systems play a key role in limiting the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and FAO said it is committed to tackling what the UN lists as one of the top 10 threats for global health.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu attended the sixth meeting of the Global Leaders Group (GLG) on Antimicrobial Resistance last February 7 in Bridgetown, Barbados. It was the first time that members of the GLG, which is comprised of world leaders and experts, were able to gather in person due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The meeting covered critical AMR topics such as financing, research and development, integrated surveillance, the role of the private sector, AMR and the environment and galvanizing political action to address AMR.

“FAO is fully committed to working with its partners to create more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all,” Qu said. Such agrifood systems transfor- mation can now be better supported thanks to the inclusion of the AMR in the Pandemic Fund, he added.

Qu highlighted the importance of a One Health approach to reducing the use of antimicrobials in the agrifood sector. One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems by recognizing that they are closely linked and interdependent.

FAO said it is hosting the AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform, a mechanism to promote collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders at all levels across the One Health spectrum.

Qu invited participants to a UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment scheduled for July 24-26 at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, in which AMR will be discussed.

A MR occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi become resistant to antimicrobial treatments to which they were previously susceptible.

I ncreasing use and misuse of antimicrobials and other microbial stressors (e.g. the presence of heavy metals and other pollutants) creates favorable conditions for microorganisms to develop resistance.

T his in turn poses serious threats to human, animal, plant and environmental health, food safety, food security, and pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

T he region produces seaweeds, frigate tuna (tulingan), round scad (galunggong), big-eyed scad (matambaka), Bali sardinella (tamban), eastern little tuna (bonito), skipjack (gulyasan), Indian mackerel (alumahan), yellowfin tuna (tambako/bariles) and tilapia.

T he Bangsamoro Organic Law that created the BARMM has mandated the Bangsamoro government to ensure, support, and promote economic prosperity and the pres- ervation and enrichment of culture within its territorial jurisdiction, the BARMM information office said.

Every September, the province of Tawi-Tawi holds the Agal-Agal Festival, the only seaweed festival in the country. Seaweeds are locally called agar-agar or agal-agal.

The festival demonstrates how the community values the importance of the seaweed industry, which has long been a part of their way of life,” Alih said.

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

SINCE the implementation of the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project, 16,888 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) nationwide had already received their individual electronic land titles (etiles), according to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

A ll in all, the figure covers 18,802 e-titles for 23,898 hectares of agricultural lands nationwide, DAR Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Office and SPLIT National Director Joey Sumatra said.

T he World Bank-funded SPLIT project aims to improve land tenure security and stabilize the property rights of some 1.14 million ARBs nationwide covering 1.37 million hectares of land, by subdividing the previously distributed collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOAs), and turning them into individual land titles for distribution to qualified ARBs.

So far, the DAR had validated 522,688 hectares out of the 591,572 hectares funded for parcelization, representing an accomplishment of 88 percent, covering 50,249 hectares of previously distributed CCLOAs.

Sumatra, however, said these newly validated agricultural lands are still subject to re-documentation to complete the required documents for each ARB for submission to the Registry of Deeds (RODs) for eventual registration.

DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III meanwhile announced that documents of another 38,196 hectares of farmlands are already submitted to various RODs nationwide and cleared for processing and generation of e-titles, which are expected to be released and distributed to ARBs within this year.

“Subdividing collective CLOAs for each individual ARBs undergoes a very rigid process and we cannot afford to make a mistake,” Estrella said.

T he DAR chief also said that another 107,344 hectares of farmlands have already been re-documented and are up for submission to the RODs for final evaluation and assessment.

T he agency needs to go through the process of data validation, which includes revisiting copies of CCLOAs with annotated ARBs, the approved survey plans, and the actual master lists of ARBs.

T he DAR-SPLIT validation team should establish who among the listed ARBs have already passed away, abandoned or sold their rights of ownership, are still in possession of their respective shares of farm lots and those merely squatting in the absence of any proof of transfer of rights of ownership.