Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative and Assistant Majority Leader Javi Benitez is pushing for comprehensive reforms to protect sugar farmers and strengthen the competitiveness of the Philippine sugar industry, saying the sector needs both immediate intervention and long-term structural solutions.
Speaking at the press briefing following the LegisHear public consultation in Victorias City, Benitez said the House Committee on Agriculture and Food would take a closer look at the challenges confronting the industry as it tackles his proposed legislation.
“Let’s just call a spade a spade.”
“We have to really take a look at our sugar industry because we believe it is in a crisis. I mean, let’s just call a spade a spade,” Benitez said.
Among the issues that need to be addressed, the legislator said, are unclear import policies and the prices received by farmers at the mill gate.
The lawmaker pointed out that “what is needed here is protection in a way from import orders that are vague. That’s one. Another one is the mill gate prices.”
“Legislators could study mechanisms to prevent prices from falling to levels where farmers can no longer earn a sustainable income.”
He said legislators could study mechanisms to prevent prices from falling to levels where farmers can no longer earn a sustainable income, including the possibility of setting a floor price or developing a more adaptable system that responds to changing market conditions.
“They could be stabilized by setting a floor price. We have to take a look at how this would play out in the national government in terms of legality,” Benitez stressed.
He clarified that he does not favor simply legislating a fixed sugar price, noting that market conditions change.
Instead, Congress could examine trigger points and other factors that could guide the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the national government in determining when intervention is necessary.
“We want to look into how the times and the market price are changing, but what we want is nothing below what the farmers cannot earn from,” Benitez said.
He said reforms should also ensure that sugar farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries have buyers even before their crops are harvested and brought to mills or traders.
Beyond prices and market access, Benitez said Congress must examine the industry’s longer-term competitiveness, including the development of climate-resilient and more productive sugar varieties and improvements in milling.
“We have to look at varieties that are more productive. We have to look at improving our mills,” he said.
Benitez stressed that the legislation would be shaped through consultations with farmers and other stakeholders rather than dictated by lawmakers alone.
“The important thing here is we have filed, we have authored, and listened to all the stakeholders of the sugar industry. It’s not going to come from me alone. This will be coming from our sugar industry stakeholders,” he stressed.
Benitez added that Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and Senior Deputy Speaker Dinand Hernandez are aware of the initiative and the challenges facing the industry.
Benitez thanked Dy for bringing LegisHear to Victorias City and for expressing support for efforts to help the sugar sector.
For immediate concerns confronting farmers, Benitez said existing government agencies such as the SRA and DA are in a position to act while Congress works on medium- and long-term legislative reforms.
He said the overriding objective is to ensure that government policy allows farmers to continue earning from their livelihood while building a sugar industry that can compete amid changing domestic and global conditions.
