The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), has begun distributing the first batch of cash assistance to sugarcane farmers under the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (PAFFP).
The initial payout took place last week in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, benefiting 1,469 farmers. Additional releases followed in Murcia, bringing the total number of recipients in Negros Occidental’s third district to 13,588.
The program allocates P240 million for 102,237 sugar farmers nationwide. Of these, 70,415 are from the Visayas, including 56,400 from the Negros Island Region, which produces over 60 percent of the country’s sugar.
SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the aid is significant as sugar farmers are not usually included in government assistance programs. The support was approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and is limited to farmers registered in the government’s agriculture database.
The PAFFP is part of a broader P10-billion initiative launched last week to help farmers and fisherfolk cope with rising fuel and input costs. Funded under the 2026 national budget, the program provides P2,325 to each of more than 4.17 million beneficiaries, including small rice, corn, and sugar farmers, as well as registered fisherfolk.
The DA said the assistance aims to ease financial pressure caused by high fuel prices, which affect farm machinery, irrigation, and fishing operations, while helping sustain food production.
As of April 19, retail sugar prices in Metro Manila remain elevated, with refined sugar at P80.44 per kilo, washed sugar at P73.33, and brown sugar at P73.22.
