Government’s support to private cane farmers in excess of $450M

1. part of efforts to ensure adequate supply of cane to new factory

Georgetown, GINA, April 02, 2008.

Efforts to modernise the sugar industry through expanded cultivation and increased production to adequately supply the new Skeldon factory is heightening as Government has invested $450M in necessary support to private cane farmers involved in the development of additional lands particularly in Region Six.
            This was highlighted today during a meeting at the Skeldon Workers Sports Complex, Skeldon Estate, with Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud and cane farmers of the Region. General Manager of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Vishnu Panday and other officials of the Corporation and Ministry of Agriculture were among those present at the meeting.
            Minister Persaud assured farmers of the administration’s continued support to ensure that the sugar industry is sustained and further developed despite its many challenges. Reference was made to the US$200M Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project, construction of the packaging centre at Enmore and ongoing negotiations with the Chinese to fund a distillery project at Skeldon.
Farmers were encouraged to see their contributions as important in realizing the vision for a modernized sugar industry in Guyana with Skeldon being the ‘jewel’ of the country and Caribbean.
Cooperative societies involved in cane cultivation activities and others were urged to improve their organisation and accountability to ensure that the resources provided to them are utilised. 
            Among the areas in which cane farmers have been given assistance to accelerate their activities are discussions between GuySuCo and the Banking institutions to ensure timely processing of loans to cane farmers, procurement of equipment being used in land preparation activities and support with the acquisition of agro-chemicals.
In addition, farmers have benefited from enhanced extension services while most of them have signed a five-year agreement for harvesting of cane with GuySuCo. The National Cane Farmers Committee has been reactivated and will be announced shortly.  
At present, additional efforts are being made to provide further support to the farmers including the procurement of more machinery through GuySuCo. These initiatives are being made as Government recognises the contributions of the private cane farmers to ensuring that the demand of the new factory is met and that the industry’s modernisation programme is realised.
The new Skeldon sugar factory will be capable of crushing approximately 1.2 million tonnes of cane per year which will produce more than 100, 000 tonnes of sugar annually. Private farmers have been contracted to develop about 4000 hectares of virgin land to facilitate cultivation, which represents approximately 33 percent of the required amount of cane.  
GuySuCo is facilitating expansion of its current estates by more than 4000 hectares to cater for supply to the factory. These expansions when combined with the existing cultivating capacity of the Skeldon estate are likely to ensure an adequate supply for the new factory.
            One of the main issues raised by farmers during the meeting was the delay in approval of loans by the Banks to finance their harvesting activities. Minister Persaud explained that neither Government nor GuySuCo has control over the situation and they cannot instruct the financial institutions to provide loans to anyone. However, there has been contact between GuySuCo and the Banks to determine ways in which Government can help the process.
            Farmers complained that the process of transferal of the land leases to them is taking too long and it was agreed that a meeting will be held with the farmers and the Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Survey to discuss the matter.
            Prior to the meeting, four contracts totalling approximately $65M for drainage and irrigation upgrading in Moleson Creek were signed between the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and the two contractors who have been awarded the projects.
            NDIA Chief Executive Officer Lionel Wordsworth explained that the projects entail construction of several D&I structures that will benefit agricultural activities in approximately 14, 00 acres of lands. A fifth contract for similar works in the Moleson Creek area is expected to be signed shortly and is estimated to cost an additional $15M.

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