PEST OVERLOAD: NegOcc’s sugar production decline as infestation hits sugarcane fields

Dubbed as the “Sugar Bowl of the Philippines,” the province of Negros Occidental shares a sweet story of sugar across the nation. However, this sweet industry has been struck by a bitter aftertaste to agriculture—big impacts brought by small pests. 

Red Striped Soft-Scale Insects (RSSI), an invasive pest affecting sugarcanes across thousands of hectares of land across Negros Occidental has costed the province a threat to their economy and agricultural sector.

Pulvinaria tenuivalvata or RSSI — a sugarcane pest that damages a sugarcane’s ability to undergo photosynthesis  — sucks the leaf sap and releases honeydew which causes fungal growth in the plant which could result in plant death. 

According to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), infected sugarcanes could have a content loss of up to 50 percent resulting in a lower yield.

Accounting for 65 percent of the country’s sugar production, the low yield brought by these pests could also affect the country’s national sugar output.

Most pests are a headache to farmers, and RSSI is one of them. It has become a silent yet destructive threat to Philippine agriculture, quietly devastating thousands of hectares of sugarcane by weakening plants from within.

RSSI was first introduced in the country in 2022 and has since spread to key sugar-producing areas. By June 2025, over 1,300 hectares of sugarcane fields have been reported infested.

This type of pest is said to breed in hot and dry conditions by laying eggs in clusters, which spreads easily through infested planting materials and unmonitored transport between farms.

Producing energy and storing sugar is affected by these pests through feeding on sugarcane leaf saps, leaving behind a sticky substance that promotes fungal mold. From this, the sugar content of the plant can decrease by 50 percent.

“This is an emergency for the sugar industry,” said SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona during an inter-agency meeting.

Records indicate a total of 1,326 farmers in 58 barangays of 21 local government units (LGUs) across Visayas have been affected. It is said that 17 localities and 1,290 farmers are from the Negros Occidental province.

Notably, the pest has struck several of the province’s key sugar-producing areas, including the cities of Talisay, Victorias, Cadiz, La Carlota, Silay, and Bago, as well as the towns of EB Magalona, Manapla, Murcia, and La Castellana.

If RSSI is enabled to develop, it may disrupt the nation's sugar supply and increase the financial strain on rural people whose survival depends on each harvest season.

Aczona further stressed the need for various interventions such as the implementation of stricter protocols in the trade and transport of sugarcane and sugarcane planting materials.

Threatening the livelihood of hundreds of sugar farmers, the Department of Agriculture (DA) approved of the 10-million peso budget requested by the SRA to contain the infestation of these pests.

“I know that the sugar industry is very important for the Negros Island Region and the SRA and the Department of Agriculture will work with 101 percent effort in finding a solution,” Aczona said during a stakeholders’ forum.

The agency is said to conduct trainings for local agriculturists across Bacolod to tackle ways on monitoring and mitigating the spread of RSSI.

SRA Deputy Administrator Ignacio Santillana added that field monitoring, information dissemination, education and communication distribution, validation and geotagging of reported infestations are some of the efforts the agency has been conducting in coordination with the affected municipalities.

According to Azcona, the agency has ordered a further study of the effects of RSSI to sugarcanes that were infected for rehabilitation of the infested areas and biocontrol.

Research by the National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) show that the pesticides Buprofezin, Dinotefuran, Phenthoate, Pymetrozine, and Thiamethoxam may be able to limit RSSI infestations. 

"Based on our assessment, the pest can spread to contiguous farms, and treating cane points with insecticides, especially if they are just piling on the fields, as RSSI has been found to thrive under the heat, can help reduce their numbers," Randolph Candano of the NCPC said.

Azcona ordered the La Granja Agricultural Research and Extension Center to conduct a second study of these pesticides to expedite its permit application with the Fertilizers and Pesticides Authority (FPA).

This is because of the fact that the listed pesticides are still not yet registered by the FPA to be used on sugarcanes.

Through collective efforts, the SRA reports a slower rate of reported increase in RSSI infestations across the province.

Having a 2,282.36 hectares or 13-percent increase in affected areas as of July 2. The initial infested area was 2,027.79 hectares on June 25.

The infestation is noted to have been slower compared to reports from May 28, June 13, and June 6 wherein increase rates have been said to be at 34 percent, 62 percent, and 54 percent, respectively.

Azcona shared that the positive results on containing the infestations may be attributed to the heightened awareness and active interventions done by sugar planters across the province. 

The agency recommends that farmers be alert in detecting infestations and must practice the proper disposal of infected sugarcane.

Upon government authorizations, plant transportation has also been minimized to avoid the further spread of the infestation across the nation.

Regardless how small these insects are viewed, impacts are loaded with negative results on both agricultural and economic sectors of the area.

Now, a dent has been intricated into the sweet success of sugar production in Negros Occidental. Until interventions are not taken into profusion, this bitter taste will find its way to linger.