Despite another year of expected low yields, one of the island’s main private sugarcane farmers is optimistic that there is room for improvement in the fortunes of the struggling industry.
In fact, Director of Barbados Farms Limited Edward Clarke is predicting that farmers should see efficiency improvements in their operation as a result of a new measure that was implemented for this year’s sugar harvest, which got off to somewhat slow start for some plantations last Monday.
Following discussions between private cane farmers and Government last year, not only did the sugar producers receive outstanding payments up to last year, they also implemented a new technique to their harvesting and some were given a wage increase.
Large can producers were to receive up to two 10-tonne tipping bins while some of the smaller ones would receive a six-tonne bin.
This move would allow for transloading of the sugarcane by the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) in 20-tonne lorries instead of using the old multi-crate trailers travelling the full distance from farm to factory.
Clarke said he saw this as a huge improvement for the industry, which should help to create efficiency and reduce fuel costs.
“So we are hoping that the efficiency side of the operations will improve quite a bit,” he said.
Clarke added as far as he was aware all the sugarcane producers were still willing to “make a go at it” to save the industry and get more value added from it.
“We agree with Government that we should not be shipping bulk sugar. We have been clamouring for that for a long time. We also believe that we need to see a better use of the end product,” said Clarke.
“We have to be able to provide for the rum producers of Barbados. We have to have an agreement with them that they will take up as much molasses as they can get, but we need to get the volume of production up,” he said.
He said private sugarcane farmers were also hoping to work with government on producing biomass energy.
“Hopefully we will see better use of the end product through biomass, molasses for rum production and basically through energy,” he said.
Barbados TODAY understands that Government and private sugarcane farmers could soon be entering into a five-year agreement, which would include a new pricing arrangement.
Clarke said as a result of the changes he was confident that the period of lingering uncertainty over the sugar industry was slowing disappearing.
However, he quickly pointed out that for the industry to grow there needed to be more rainfall, pointing out that the ongoing drought condition has had the most devastating impact in recent years.
“We have suffered tremendously. I mean, 40 to 50 per cent production in yield and that is not by planting less, that is just because of poor rainfall,” said Clarke.
“All the farmers are still willing to make a go at it, and by God’s grace we are hoping that we get some rainfall this year and the crop next year will be better,” said an optimistic Clarke.
Predictions are that less than 7,400 tonnes of sugar will be produced this year. marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
