Unsettled weather has not been a factor in the “precipitate” decline in cane yields and sugar output, rather it has been a case of a shortage of cash and poor agricultural practices.
These are among the key findings of the Field sub-committee of the Commission of Inquiry into the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). The key recommendation coming from the report is to privatize GuySuCo within three years. The former PPP/C government has often cited poor weather as a reason for the poor performance of GuySuCo.
Compiled by Dr Harold Davis and John Piggott, the three-volume report which was recently tabled in parliament, noted that since 2005 there have been sharp drops in cane yield and sugar output. It said that restricted cash flows and poor credit as a result of high expenditures associated with the