When the former government took the decision to close GuySuCo’s Skeldon Estate in 2017, like a lot of other people brothers Anand and Prakash Singh learned about it in the news.
The Singhs, who are farmers in the Upper Corentyne area, were suddenly faced with huge losses as they had been supplying some 10% of sugar cane used by the estate at the time.
“We were devastated, we couldn’t believe because they said sugar was too big to fail and especially Skeldon where massive investment took place,” Anand Singh, 59, of Crabwood Creek, told Stabroek News.
“We were never informed. We only heard it from the media,” he added, as he stood in a section of one of his farms packed with old cane.
During a tour of two of three of Singh’s farms, this newspaper observed cash crops alongside fields of old canes.
Anand explained, that he had always been a cash crop farmer but in 2006 they were told of a plan to modernise the Skeldon Estate. He said interested farmers who had land were told that they were expect-ed to contribute 33% to the “Skeldon modernization project.” As a result, they started to clear land and with the support from then Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, they received bank loans that aided them in starting the process to plant and cultivate cane.
Following the sudden closure of the Skeldon Estate, Anand said they returned to some cash crop and citrus farming, while hoping that the estate would reopen since the then government had spoken of possibly privatising the estate.
“If they had privatised, we still had a chance because we know we are efficient private farmers and we knew we could compete competitively if they had privatised because whoever took over the factory would have needed sugar cane and we had excellent cane,” he said.
However, after waiting for about two years, the man then focused only on his cash crop and citrus farming.
According to him, it was only after a lengthy meet-ing with Skeldon Estate Manager Vishnu Panday recently that his doubts about the reopening of the factory were addressed and they decided to return to planting cane.
With the expected reopening of the Skeldon Estate, Singh said, “There is a new lease of life for us. We are extremely, extremely, extremely happy.”
Singh’s older brother, Prakash, 70, said, that they are happy that “all of our lands are going to be put back into use, all the labours, all the investment we made and tied up in machinery and capital that we can now optimise on that and maintain the loans we have.”
According to the older brother, once the govern-ment and GuySuCo stick to their promise and ensure that the estates becoming profitable, then they will also benefit. “We are good farmers, we grow good canes,” he stressed.
While Anand added, “We had the tonnes of canes, much more higher tonne canes that any farm and any sugar estate in this country. We know cane farming.”
According to Anand, presently they are doing major works in preparing the trenches, lands, and drainage and irrigation canals around their cultivation.
They believe that it is also important that the Ministry of Agriculture visit the area and offer some sort of support. “We are looking for grants, for some easy loans. We are looking for them to write off some loans and help us to renegotiate,” said Prakash, while Anand said “some guidance and some financial input” are needed.
Asked whether they have any fears about returning to cane farming, Prakash said, “We are not fearful, we are super confident with this minister,” while Anand added, “We have full confidence in the minister, we think the minister is there for us farmers, we have total belief in him.”
Anand then further stressed, “This government promised sugar and we know sugar will be the way to go.”
Additionally, Prakash, a retired professor, said, that they are strongly urging the government to consider addressing some engineering issues at the Skeldon Estate in an effort to ensure that sugar becomes profitable.
He said, “We need to make sugar competitive and as farmers we need to have a fair yield and a fair deal which we weren’t having.”
The two brothers are looking to cultivate around 3,000 acres while other cane farmers in the area are looking to cultivate a total of 10,000 acres.
Before the closure of the sugar estates, the two brothers had employed thousands. Since some work has commenced, they have rehired some former workers.
