TICFA to meet with Rahael

THE proposed purchase of sugarcane based on quality and the benchmark price of $200 per tonne are among the topics to be discussed by farmers with Agriculture Minister John Rahael on Friday at the Ministry’s St Clair headquarters.

Trinidad Islandwide CaneFarmers Association (TICFA) Public Relations Officer Lallan Rajaram said farmers were also seeking a “three-year” grace period before the “sucrose content” method for the purchasing of canes could be implemented. However, Rajaram, whose organisation represents the majority of country’s canefarmers, said that while TICFA was not against the “sucrose content” system for the purchasing of cane, he pointed out that several questions were still outstanding on how the canes would be tested.

Questions included how the system would be introduced to individual farmers in time for next year’s sugar harvest, as well as which labs would be used to determine the sucrose content of the canes. “Farmers are asking for the traditional period of three years to fully understand how the system works and what adjustments would be needed by farmers,” he said. Currently, Government purchases cane on a quantity basis and not a quality (sucrose content) basis. Rajaram added that farmers were also asking for canes to be increased to $200 per tonne. He pointed out that farmers had not recieved an increase for quite some time and felt that the time was now ripe for an increase since farmers were being asked to supply all of the raw material needed for next year’s crop. Rajaram also urged Government to “speed up” the final payments due to farmers for this year’s crop, pointing out that infrastructural work on lands were being kept back due to the late payments. Farmers are still owed some $42 million dollars for the 2003 crop.