ILOILO CITY — A tiny insect is creating a potentially massive problem for Iloilo’s sugar industry.
The provincial government is intensifying efforts to contain the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) after the pest spread across roughly 7,021 hectares of sugarcane farms, equivalent to about one-third of Iloilo’s 20,749.88 hectares planted to the crop.
The infestation has become serious enough for Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. to describe the province as moving into “disaster mode,” as authorities race to stop the pest from spreading into unaffected plantations and further cutting into farmers’ incomes.
And the concern is no longer simply about damaged sugarcane.
Pest Has Already Spread Across Major Sugar-Producing Areas
Among the areas identified by provincial authorities as having significant infestation are Batad, Carles, Banate, Dingle and Anilao.
RSSI has also been detected in a growing list of other communities, including areas in Lambunao, Pototan, San Dionisio, San Enrique, San Rafael, Sara, Balasan, Bingawan, Estancia and Passi City, according to the latest PIA report.
Earlier provincial monitoring showed the infestation reaching even more municipalities as authorities expanded surveillance and validation efforts.
The scale of the outbreak represents a sharp deterioration from earlier in 2026.
Philippine Star reported that as of May 29, only around 45.8 hectares in Iloilo had been listed as affected by RSSI. By July, provincial assessments were already putting the affected area at more than 7,000 hectares.
That dramatic increase helps explain why officials are treating the infestation as more than an ordinary farm pest problem.
Why RSSI Can Hurt Farmers Even When Cane Survives
RSSI, scientifically known as Pulvinaria tenuivalvata, feeds on sugarcane by sucking sap from the plant.
Heavy infestations can weaken the cane and reduce plant growth, weight, juice quality and sucrose levels. Industry reporting has warned that severe infestations may dramatically cut productivity.
The Department of Agriculture has said the pest can reduce the sugar content of affected cane by as much as 50 percent, meaning farmers could still suffer significant financial losses even when a field is not completely destroyed.
The insect also produces honeydew that encourages the development of sooty mold on the plant, interfering with photosynthesis and further weakening affected sugarcane.
Researchers are particularly concerned about how rapidly RSSI can multiply.
The Iloilo provincial government has cited agricultural officials saying that one reproductive cycle can produce more than 300 eggs, while dry conditions may accelerate the pest’s spread.
A 2026 study by researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños’ National Crop Protection Center described RSSI as an emerging invasive pest of Philippine sugarcane and emphasized the importance of monitoring its life cycle to improve control strategies.
Iloilo Is Now Building Biosecurity Rules Around Sugarcane
One of the biggest challenges is that RSSI remains a relatively new agricultural threat for many affected communities.
Defensor said existing institutionalized biosecurity systems for the pest were lacking, forcing the province to develop specific containment protocols as the outbreak expanded.
The Provincial Agriculture Office has prepared an RSSI management protocol, while the governor is expected to issue an executive order containing additional measures designed to prevent the infestation from spreading.
One critical strategy involves controlling the movement of sugarcane planting materials.
Using infestation maps, authorities intend to identify infected zones and restrict potentially contaminated planting materials from being transported into clean farming areas.
That approach could prove crucial because transporting infested plant material from one municipality to another can effectively give the pest a free ride into new production areas.
Drones, Biological Controls and Chemicals Are Being Used
Iloilo is not relying on just one method.
The provincial government, Sugar Regulatory Administration and Department of Agriculture have been conducting field monitoring, pest surveillance and data validation while deploying both chemical and biological control measures.
The province has also begun using drones to apply biological control agents and foliar fertilizers to affected plantations.
At the national level, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. earlier directed the Sugar Regulatory Administration to accelerate the mass production of naturally occurring fungi capable of suppressing RSSI.
The Department of Agriculture said it wants enough biological control agents to cover at least 75,000 hectares nationwide.
The strategy is significant because excessive dependence on conventional pesticides can create additional problems, including resistance and damage to natural predators that can help suppress pest populations.
Agricultural experts have consequently encouraged farmers to combine early detection, field sanitation, biological controls and protection of beneficial insects rather than relying exclusively on insecticides.
Iloilo Is Not Alone
The outbreak has become a broader Visayas problem.
Neighboring Capiz declared a state of calamity after RSSI affected about 3,331.61 hectares, equivalent to 76.68 percent of its sugarcane plantations, according to provincial figures reported by PIA on August 14. About 1,819 sugarcane planters were listed as affected.
In Bacolod City, authorities also declared a state of calamity after the pest damaged more than 2,000 hectares of sugarcane farms, with agricultural losses estimated at around P200 million, Philippine Star reported.
Negros Occidental has also suffered widespread infestation. Earlier provincial reporting cited SRA figures showing more than 14,447 hectares affected there and thousands of farmers impacted.
The national government has responded with financial as well as agricultural assistance.
In July, government officials announced about P235 million in assistance and interventions for sugarcane farmers affected by RSSI and for efforts to control the infestation across the Visayas.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development later distributed more than P10.26 million in emergency cash assistance to 994 affected sugarcane farmers in Negros Occidental, with each beneficiary receiving P10,325 under the Emergency Cash Transfer program.
The Bigger Risk May Be What Happens to Farmers’ Income
For Iloilo, the most immediate battle is preventing 7,021 affected hectares from becoming an even larger number.
But acreage alone does not capture the full economic threat.
Sugarcane farmers can lose income long before an entire field dies. Lower cane weight, reduced sugar content, poorer juice quality and additional pest-management expenses can all reduce earnings from a harvest.
That is why the provincial government is already exploring financial assistance for farmers whose livelihoods are affected by the infestation, including possible coordination with the DSWD.
Authorities are also developing a damage-classification system that would grade affected farms from slight to extreme damage, allowing officials to better map the outbreak and prioritize assistance.
There is another reason authorities cannot afford complacency: RSSI may not be limited exclusively to sugarcane.
Provincial officials have warned that the pest can also infest corn and coconut, potentially turning what is currently a sugar-industry emergency into a wider agricultural problem if containment fails.
For Iloilo’s farmers, then, the real question is no longer whether the pest has arrived.
It is whether authorities can stop it before another planting season—and another source of rural income—is placed at risk.
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