The number of sugar migrants, also known as “sacadas,” working in the sugar-rich province of Negros Occidental is declining after their lives have improved with the assistance of Antique’s provincial government.

“Negros Occidental Governor (Eugenio Jose) Lacson has already told me that they are now having difficulty in looking for sacadas because there are fewer and fewer Antiqueños willing to work in their sugar lands,” Governor Rhodora Cadiao said in an interview on Wednesday.

Cadiao, on her last term as governor, is preparing for her last annual “Bisita Sacada” in Negros Occidental to look into the situation of the sacadas, extend medical services, and provide food packs and cash assistance on Nov. 29 until Dec.1.

She noted that from more than 4,000 sacadas working in Negros Occidental in the previous years, their number dropped to almost half.

Since 2015, the provincial government has been providing the sugar workers with livelihood and legal assistance and Aid to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), while their children are prioritized in providing educational support.

“Before, the sacadas were forced to work in the sugar lands for they have to provide for the educational needs of their children,” Cadiao said.

Acting chief of the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) Bienvinido Nallos Jr. said in a separate interview that this year, the provincial government allocated PHP40 million for livelihood projects, prioritizing the sacadas.

“The livelihood projects for sacadas depended on their proposals, like sari-sari store, cattle or goat dispersal, and piggery,” Nallos said.

PPDO data showed that 73 of the 94 sacadas they asked said their family income in 2023 improved compared to 2015.

In August, the provincial government gathered the sugar migrant workers for their Sacada Congress in the municipality of Tibiao and extended medical and other services to the participants. (PNA)