Victorias City, Negros Occidental – The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) looks to secure approval of the 2024 budget of the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) before the end of the year.
Pablo Azcona, SRA administrator, told reporters a prompt approval will allow the agency ample time to deploy its resources for optimum impact next year.
SIDA is helping the sugar industry become competitive by allotting annual funds of P2 billion starting in 2016.
The annual budget has fluctuated over the year as farmers fail to meet bank documentation for loans.
According to Azcona, its budget is usually approved late in August or September when there’s little time to deploy them for programmed activities.
This year the budget approval came early in March that allowed them to pursue more projects, making possible for a prompt petition for its 2024 budget “so when the new year starts, we can already start moving,” Azcona said.
Azcona said the SRA pushed for the restoration of SIDA to the P2 billion this year but only P1 billion was approved.
The reduced budget for SIDA in prior years arose from a three-year delay in the purchase of P500 million in machinery and equipment that has been remedied when the SRA itself took over the bidding process.
At present, 50 percent of SIDA funds is used for the construction of farm-to-market roads (FMR). The other 50 percent is spent on research and mechanization, socialized credit and on scholarships.
