Manila, June 17 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered the mass production of biological control agents to help control the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) outbreak affecting the country's sugar industry.

In a statement Wednesday, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he directed the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to accelerate the mass production of a naturally occurring fungus that can suppress the rapid spread of the sap-sucking pest before it inflicts more serious damage.

"I told SRA to address the RSSI infestation head-on. We have the technology and the capability to produce the biocontrol agent to do so," he said.

"We must have enough biocontrol agents to cover at least 75,000 hectares," Tiu Laurel sa...