Getting the best sugar from the cane

A SEMINAR on producing high quality sugarcane for the  sugar industry in Trinidad and Tobago created much interest at the Rudranath Capildeo Learning Resource Centre, Mc Bean, Couva, yesterday.

Main speaker was Sefhagiri Rao, chairman of the Central Sugar Research Centre, located in Barbados, who insisted that when high quality cane was produced, the ratio of tonnes of cane to tonnes of sugar would be considerably reduced. Rao, who has been conducting research on sugarcane for 35 years, used slides to assist in his documentary and was precise in explaining how farmers would benefit if they stuck to supplying the best quality cane for the 2004 sugar cane crop in Trinidad.

Since the shutting down of the Brechin Castle factory, there is only one factory in operation at Usine Ste Madeleine, by the Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd. In answer to a question by a farmer, it was revealed that the old contract would be in operation at the present time, as payment to farmers for supplying cane to the factory, until an announcement was made by the Government, and this is expected to be done sooner rather than later.