The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA; Filipino: Pangasiwaan sa Regulasyon ng Asukal; Hiligaynon: Administrasyon sa Regulasyon sang Kalamay) is a government-owned and controlled corporation attached to the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines who is responsible for promoting the growth and development of the sugar industry of the Philippines through greater participation of the private sector and to improve the working conditions of the laborers..
This study evaluated the effectiveness and operational transparency of the three major divisions under the Regulation Department Visayas of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA): the Sugar Regulation and Enforcement Division (SRED), Licensing and Monitoring Division (LMD), and Laboratory Services Division (LSD). Anchored on the Bureaucratic and Systems Theories of Management, the research employed a descriptive-correlational design using a validated survey questionnaire administered to 65 Regulation Department Visayas personnel. Departmental effectiveness was examined using dimensions such as purpose, roles, processes, relationships, problem-solving, commitment, and learning, which yielded excellent results overall. Operational transparency was also assessed through participation, information-sharing, and accountability, resulting in a very high overall rating. Findings revealed no significant differences in perceptions of effectiveness and transparency when demographic characteristics, including age, sex, educational attainment, employment status, and length of service, or by division grouped respondents. However, a significant relationship between departmental effectiveness and operational transparency was established. The results highlight transparency’s importance in enhancing organizational performance. The study aimed to identify performance gaps and support policy reforms and good governance initiatives within the SRA and other government agencies. It concludes with recommendations for improvement and reforms to promote sustainable development and public trust in the sugar industry.
This study was conducted to determine the growth of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) as affected by fermented bamboo shoot application in terms of plant height, number and diameter of nodes, number of leaves, and average number of tillers. Study results would help farmers to find an alternative source in growth promotant hormone that could find in fermented bamboo shoot (FBS) that is locally available compared to synthetic cytokinin. There were four treatments used: t1- 2 ml synthetic cytokinin/L of water (control); t2- 2 ml of FBS/L of water; t3- 7 ml of FBS/L of water, t4- 12 ml of FBS/L of water. These treatments were arranged in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and were replicated four times. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used as a statistical tool of the study and comparison among means using Honest Tukeys Significant difference at 5% level of significance. Sugarcane plants applied with 7 ml bamboo shoot concoctions has highest mean in plant height and number of leaves which is significantly higher than synthetic cytokinin and 2 ml concoction. On the other hand, application of 12 ml concoction got the highest mean in number of nodes and nodes diameter which is statistically higher than synthetic cytokinin and 2 ml concoction but comparable to 7 ml concoction. Based on results, FBS is better source of cytokinin and could be an alternative of using synthetic cytokinin. Results also revealed that using 7 ml and 12 ml concoctions performs better in all agronomic parameters. It is recommended to use FBS as a replacement of using the synthetic cytokinin at the levels of 7 ml and 12 ml concoctions per litre of water. Further study on the effect of FBS must be conducted to determine significance in tiller production of sugarcane. Further research study for the FBS to be analyzed for cytokinin content and will be used as fertilizer to other crops and vegetables are recommended to truly validate the results.
Updating of seasonal agricultural crop map is limited by the local knowledge of the mapper. Mapping of previously unaccounted agricultural plots involve massive field works aided by very high-resolution images. The phenological cycle of seasonal crops like sugarcane, with a range of ten (10) to twelve (12) months from planting to harvesting, exhibit a unique characteristic in terms of radar backscatter and time. In this paper, a pattern matching algorithm was tested to detect sugarcane plantations. Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), which was originally used for voice recognition, was used to detect sugarcane plantations from multitemporal Sentinel-1A images. Using known sugarcane plots, temporal signatures were gathered and used to detect other plantations in the area. The result helped the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in updating the inventory of sugarcane plantations faster with detection accuracy of more than 92 percent.
