THE Davao del Sur Provincial Government, through its 18th Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Agriculture, immediately convened on August 28, 2026, with local sugarcane farmers' cooperatives, the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region, stakeholders, and non-government organizations to discuss intervention measures against the pest infestation that affected a huge part of sugarcane plantations in the province.
Committee Chair Board Member Rey Aballe, along with co-chair Board Member Shiela Cagas met with representatives from DA-Davao, Sugar Regulatory Administration-Davao, Regional Crop Protection Center-Davao, and Bureau of Plant-Industry-Davao, and some capitol department heads to tackle the emergence of a Red-striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI, with scientific name Pulvinaria tenuivalvata) that has now affected over 32 percent of the sugarcane plantation all over Davao del Sur, particularly in the municipalities of Bansalan, Matanao, Magsaysay, Hagonoy, Kiblawan, Sulop, and Malalag and in Digos City.
During their meeting, it was revealed that sugarcane planters whose plantations were attacked by RSSI experienced reduced income due to poor-quality harvested sugarcane and lower volumes of raw sugar produced.
As of August 27, 2026, the committee reported that 1,731.73 hectares of the 5,372.70 total hectares of sugarcane area in Davao del Sur is affected, with Hagonoy suffering the highest rate of infestation or around 46.81 percent. The municipality is followed by Matanao with 38.42 percent affected areas, Bansalan with 36.79 percent, Digos City with 32.47 percent, Magsaysay with 26.73 percent, Kiblawan with 24.91 percent, Malalag with 20.17 percent, and Sulop with 17.91 percent.
Economic impact
A total of 1,612 sugarcane planters operate in the Davao Mill District, which produces 224,485.97 tons of cane and 415,458.20 bags of sugar. This translated to around ₱947.24 million in gross profit at ₱2,280 per bag.
The pest infestation causes severe income loss through poor cane quality and diminished raw sugar volume.
Pest profile and response efforts
The RSSI is a soft-bodied, leech-like insect with light green to dark brown oval bodies and green-to-brown dorsal stripes.
At the moment, the government has distributed chemical interventions, with a total of 401 farmers already receiving Lambda-cyhalothrin and Thiamethoxam. Treatment using these chemicals has already been applied to 1,424.23 to 1,425.94 hectares of affected crops.
Meanwhile, natural predators such as Earwigs and Green Lacewings are being identified for ongoing pest management.
The committee is also eyeing to pass a measure to immediately address the problem. CEA
