BACOLOD CITY — Farm workers, agrarian reform beneficiaries and small sugarcane farmers in Negros on Monday (July 27) urged the government to make economic recovery reach rural communities. They say poverty, unemployment and hunger continue to plague sugar-producing areas. Their call comes as President Marcos Jr. delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona). Joel Pasigado, chairperson of the Tib-ng Obreros Federation, said sugar-dependent communities remain burdened by the Red Stripe Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation, rising production costs, unstable sugar prices, weather-related problems, and the annual ‘tiempo muerto,’ when thousands of sugar workers lose their primary source of […]...Keep on reading: Negros sugar workers say economic recovery must include rural areas