Several private sugar cane farmers yesterday morning were told that they will benefit from a $600 million package which the authorities have made available in the form of support to them.
More than two dozen farmers met Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud and a team from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), including the corporation’s CEO Paul Bhim at the ministry’s boardroom on Regent Road, Bourda to discuss the development of the sugar cane sub-sector and other issues affecting the industry. Farmers from across the country were present at the meeting with the exception of those from the Skeldon area.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, who address-ed concerns raised by the farmers noted at the meeting that the close to 3,000 private cane farming population will be the beneficiaries of several initiatives aimed at strengthening the industry. He said that while the authorities recognized that there are challenges facing the private farmers, several interventions were needed in order to cushion the effects such challenges may have had on the farmers.
At the meeting the farmers raised several issues which had been affecting their operations most of which centred around drainage and irrigation while issues such as the availability of chemicals and cane stalks for replanting were also raised. It was noted by one farmer that that there was need for further assistance by the government in future in critical areas such as D&I, fertilizer and milling.
Another farmer from the Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) area also expressed concern about not being able to supply the sugar corporation with canes from the EBD area. He said that at the moment it has proven to be expensive to transport canes to the La Bonne Intention (LBI) estate on the East Coast Demerara from (ECD) the EBD.
Officials at meeting noted the concerns expressed by the farmers and the farmers were informed that measures would have been put in place to address the issues raised.
Persaud said the farmers will benefit from a $5,000 increase per tonne of sugar cane stalks. In addition, he said that while GuySuCo is facing its own cash flow challenges, the corporation has agreed to bring into effect a 10% reduction in punt charges as well as a 25% reduction in machine charges. The support comes as a one-off support package for the private farmers effective from January this year, Persaud noted.
He said too that the President has approved tenders which will enable the sourcing and delivery of five D6 model bulldozers which cost in the range of $42 million to $46 million each. He said while it was necessary to have the dozers used to assist other types of farmers, they were also seen as being pivotal to the benefit of the private cane farmers.
As regards drainage and irrigation, Persaud stated that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is looking to see what it can do in terms of support to the private farmers. He said too that for the next crop, the government will provide some $80 million worth of fertilizer for the farmers to benefit.
Persaud told the farmers that some $2.6 billion worth of canes in the last crop came from the private cane farmers and of this sum $1.4 million came from the farmers at Skeldon. He said the input of the farmers into the industry is vital, adding that GuySuCo is working to ensure that it reaches its target this year for the first crop.
And farmers from Buxton, ECD also raised concerns about infrastructural support which they noted was lacking in the area. It was noted by a representative of the ECD group that the area has seen limited support in terms of D&I and the agriculture minister instructed officials present to ensure that the concerns of the Buxtonians are addressed.
Persaud stated that at the moment, the challenges presented to GuySuCo are not the availability of canes but rather, getting the canes to the factory, a scenario which he termed a positive development. He said the authorities wished to look at the wider picture and to recognize that GuySuCo’s financial state restricts its ability to do as much as it wishes and as a result the government has decided to make an input by providing assistance to the small farmers.
He said while the private cane farming population at Skeldon had been a major supplier of canes to GuySuco, several small farmers from other areas have been making significant contributions to the industry. He said the government is encouraged by the input made and as such it will support the farmers in this regard.
