Negros Occidental board sets P15M aid for sugar farmers

The provincial government of Negros Occidental has allotted P15-million in assistance to displaced sugar workers during the “dead season,” a local official said Thursday.

Vice-Governor Emilio Yulo III said the aid fund is included in the province's P111.5-million supplemental budget for 2009, which was unanimously approved by the provincial board members during its regular session on Wednesday.

Yulo said the money will be used for the purchase of rice to be distributed to displaced farm workers in the province.

The Provincial Task Force on the Sugar Industry estimates there are 300,000 sugar workers in the province alone, who may be left "jobless" during summer.

The dead season starts by June and lasts for about three months. Industry leaders, however, said the dead season may get extended for two more months this year.

Aside from the dead season, sugar planters said they would need assistance from the local government because of the spiralling costs of fertilizers coupled by the low market price of sugar, which may be aggravated by the global economic crisis.

source: abs-cbnnews