GuySuCo in dire need of $12B - Corporation to place emphasis on private farmers
MERE months after receiving a “bailout” totalling $4B to pay wages to sugar workers, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is again calling for assistance amounting to $12B, which the corporation disclosed it sorely needs.Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, while addressing cane farmers and other stakeholders at the first ever National Cane Farmers conference yesterday, made this disclosure.
“Within days of the new APNU+AFC coalition taking office, we gave the sugar industry a $4 billion bailout after we discovered that not a cent was left with GuySuCo. In two years, Parliament authorised some $17 billion to be transferred to this corporation, whose leadership brought the industry to its knees,” he said.
The industry now badly needs an additional $12 billion, and even at this hard “bangaseed” time, the government will not allow the sugar industry to sink, the PM promised.
However, he said, “We need to cast out the political dead weights whose mismanagement has brought us to the point where we were forced to appoint a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the operations of GuySuCo.”
GuySuCo has since been appointed a new Board of Directors with the hope that answers could be found to help the industry move forward, the PM declared, because the industry and workers remain important, and works are being done to modernise the industry.
“It is no secret that GuySuCo contributes significantly to the country’s economy and society, to the extent that the nation’s economic fortunes are inextricably linked with that of the sugar industry.
“The industry has experienced far-reaching changes over the three and a half centuries of its existence. These changes have had negative impacts on the industry, but together we can transform the industry,” the PM declared.
PRIVATE FARMERS
The private cane farmers’ community, totalling 2,200 individuals, must be recognised for its sterling contributions to the overall sugar production drive of GuySuCo. Including their families, this will probably amount to over 10,000 persons who have, for many years, dedicated their lives to growing sugar cane. These farmers are expected to produce 26,132 tonnes of sugar this year. They have already made 8,991 tonnes in the first crop, and another 17,141 tonnes of sugar is expected for the second crop. This will amount to approximately 11.5% of the total sugar production for this year, the prime minister disclosed.
Echoing the Prime Minister’s sentiments, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder disclosed in his presentation that Government recognises the importance of private cane farmers, and has been involving them at all forums for decision-making processes for the growth and development of private cane farming in Guyana.
“After seeing the challenges facing the industry, we developed the CoI to review the structure and develop an environment that could improve the operations and sustainability of the industry, while also preparing a road map for the way ahead,” he said.
One such way, he highlighted, is developing and maintaining a sustainable private sector-led industry.
Policy changes and measures for revitalisation, resuscitation and encouragement of private cane farmers must be implemented to engage and stimulate more private farmers, to become part of GuySuCo’s existing strategic plan, focusing on small, private cane farmers engaging private cane farms.
“Policies also should be developed to advocate for private cane farmers, as there must be targeted initiatives that make it possible, including, financing programmes, land preparation agreements, conditions of work, and so forth,” Minister Holder said.
This is a notion which the Prime Minister supported. He said, “I ask for the respective ministers with portfolio for agriculture, finance, business and cooperatives to enact appropriate legislation to protect and support private cane farming in Guyana; so that you, a cane farmer, can provide for yourselves and your families through enhanced earnings from cane farming…eventually hoping that all cane farmers would have improved living conditions and a better way of life.”
IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY
Minister Holder, related to the fact that a tonne of cane per tonne of sugar (TCTS) ratio of 11.5 appears to be ideal for Guyana, as 13.12 was recorded in 2014 with the private famers securing 14.53 and estates at 12.97. This, however, is expected to improve in 2015 with 12.43 for the industry, 13.56 for private farmers and 12.29 for estates.
While the estates have better productivity, it would be a valuable proposition to put more sugar cane production into private farms.
Many private cane farmers rely on sugar estates for land preparation. However, the timely availability of machine is lacking, resulting in a backlog on behalf of both the sugar estates and private farms.
The issue of bad access dams, he noted, will be addressed. According to the minister, a petition was sent to Government for the rehabilitation of the drainage and infrastructure at the Enmore, LBI and Wales estates, and this saw farmers improving their cane yield.
ENCOURAGED INVESTMENTS
These days, he said, small farmers benefit from small loans, yet there has been an abandonment of private cane farms totalling 1814 hectares of lands due to various reasons; but through continued investment along with GuySuCo, the farmers can work together to rebuild the land reclaimed by the industry.
“Investors have viable economic opportunities available in the cane-farming industry. There are abandoned lands that they can have access to, plus there is a review of duty-free concessions for machinery, which will produce many measures to encourage the operations of cane farms,” Minister Holder said.
Government will also work towards having established cane farmers look towards other alternatives, because, he pointed out, it is not the best option to have GuySuCo monopolise all segments of the industry. Therefore, farmers can play a fundamental role in taking the industry to a new level.
By Navendra Seoraj
