The Philippine sugar industry is turning to science and technology to overcome rising production costs, labor shortages, climate risks and pest outbreaks that threaten farm productivity.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said innovation must move beyond laboratories and conferences and deliver practical gains directly to sugarcane farmers.

Speaking at the 72nd Philippine Sugar Technologists Association Annual National Convention in Cebu City, Tiu Laurel described PhilSuTech as a key partner in bringing scientific expertise closer to the industry.

“PhilSuTech has always been an important partner of our sugar industry, bringing science, technology, and expertise closer to the people who need them most,” Tiu Laurel said.

He said the sector should shift from repeatedly responding to crises toward building farms that can anticipate risks, adapt faster and produce more efficiently.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration is preparing three new high-yielding sugarcane varieties that could help farmers increase production and incomes. It is also distributing Beneficial Micro-Organisms organic fertilizer for free to help cut production costs.

The agency is likewise developing anti-RSSI biocontrol fungi and training farmers to manage the red-striped soft scale insect, a growing threat to sugarcane production.

Tiu Laurel ordered available Department of Agriculture laboratories to support the effort and called for additional facilities at the municipal, mill and farmer-group levels to ensure the biocontrol material reaches affected farms.

“The technology we develop must work for the farmer,” he said. “If it cannot help them produce more, reduce costs, save labor, manage risks, or earn better, then we have to ask ourselves, what good is it?”

He also called for a stable business environment and reiterated that sugar imports should remain a temporary market-stabilization tool rather than the government’s policy objective.