Poor planning in Caroni changes

THE EDITOR: The recent decisions of the Ministry of Agriculture with respect to the sugar industry were not unexpected. Two of these proposals, the buying of cane at the factory and purchasing of cane by sucrose content, display a lack of planning and demonstrate the motives of the State.

Nothing is essentially wrong with the grading of cane by sucrose content. However, before such a move is implemented, the stakeholders should be thoroughly apprised of the operation of the system. One would like to know if each bundle would be individually tested or testing would be done in batches, the latter a process which would unfairly affect some of the farmers who may have good quality canes. One would also like to know if this method was ever successfully implemented elsewhere. In other words, one must be in a position to evaluate accurately this method as opposed to buying canes by weight which is the current method. The purchase of canes in the factory compound instead of at designated stations will be disastrous to smaller farmers and, ultimately, the industry itself. This is because most of them do not have the requisite transport to deliver their canes to the factory and will eventually eliminate them from the production equation. Except perhaps if they sell their canes to larger farmers at prices which will represent a considerable loss. Recently Mr Rahael stated that the new sugar company would be involved only in the grinding of cane and the refining of sugar. It is an established fact that the refining of sugar is a highly skilled operation and requires professional boiler operators. What if these people were retrenched and not taken back to work? The company would be saddled with unskilled labour in a highly technical field thereby threatening its ability to meet its projected quota.

Some years ago, the same administration introduced the grading of rice before it was purchased. There was no apparatus in place for effecting this grading accurately. Consequently many, if not all, the farmers were discouraged and ceased rice production altogether. I was physically present when a lady brought five truckloads of rice at the station at Penal in the mid-eighties. She was turned away because, in the opinion of the purchaser, with only a cursory examination, her rice was deemed grade three. I can never forget the tears that lady shed on that day; it was indeed heartbreaking. This said scenario is set to repeat itself many times over in the cane industry. When a state wishes to subjugate a sector of the community it first renders its people economically debilitated. It seeks out the strength of those targeted and, using all its resources at its disposal, systematically erodes them. This is the stage that the sugar industry and its stakeholders have reached. To strengthen the State’s position there is an edict (I stand corrected), that only the state can refine sugar. The farmers and stakeholders are faced with two choices. One is to cave in and throw in the towel, the next is to do something about it and challenge the State. To my mind one of the many ways to do so is to establish a private company to grind and refine sugar.

The best legal brains should be contracted to explore the ramifications and implications that will follow. Only then with a company rivalling the State’s company then they may be able to go forward. The cocoa and coffee industry, the coconut industry, the rice industry and the citrus industry are all dead and buried, killed by callous State administrations. Sadly, the sugar industry is fast following in that direction. Something has to be done lest the country leans towards socialism. I am just a humble tractor salesman, however, it is disconcerting to see day after day poor farmers coming in and admitting defeat. Their hitherto resilient nature is all but broken. I hope that if this letter is published, it will inspire some people with confidence and courage to initiate something tangible to save the industry. In so doing they would be able to prevent thousands of people, many of them children, from destitution.

K MOHAMMED
La Romaine