WITH the closure of the current sugar crop imminent, it is clear that the

industry will fall short of its target and this has been attributed mainly to the inclement weather.
According to Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, the industry has become extremely weather-sensitive, noting that six weeks were lost in the first crop resulting in a shortfall to the target of 100,000 tonnes  by some 29,000 tonnes. A target of 160,000 tonnes was set for the second crop to help make up for the loss in the first crop, however, with the current crop near closure production stands at 146,000 tonnes and it would be possible to produce perhaps only another 3,000-4,0000 tonnes.
“We were hoping to go up to December 22, but none of the factories are fully operational now, not because they have a problem, but because of the rain. So we will keep them functioning so that we could have as much sugar as possible,” Dr Ramsammy disclosed.
Dr. Ramsammy added that since mid-November, rain has been affecting the operations of the sugar factories. He explained that when there is one day of rainfall, essentially two days are lost because if the canes cannot be burnt one day, they cannot be cut the next.
Nevertheless, it has been a better year for the industry which has definitely shown signs of a turn around.
But the minister has conceded that the lower production is not only due to the weather but several estates have been affected by a labour shortage. With the weather there is hardly anything that could be done as that is an “act of God.” However, with respect to the labour shortage, certainly steps could be taken to address it and this has to be done because the labour shortage would be a continuous problem in the sugar industry as competition for labour is inevitable.
In the old days when the sugar industry was “King Sugar”, there was hardly competition for labour and the industry provided relatively high pay and had some the best fringe benefits, although they were not received on a platter. Sugar workers had to struggle at great sacrifices to improve their conditions of work.
Today with the growth of other industries which pay higher wages and salaries compared to the sugar industry, it is inevitable that many workers would opt for higher-paying jobs, particularly in light of the fact that they receive full-time work only during crop time, while out of the crop they receive part-time work which results in low earnings.
Of course, GUYSUCO is caught in a “chicken and egg” situation because while it would like to pay higher wages and salaries, the current performance of the industry prohibits that, but at the same time if it does not pay higher salaries and wages it will fail to attract labour and in fact will lose workers to other higher-paying industries.
So what is the solution to this dilemma? In the long term, increased mechanisation is the answer, but that is a far way off as it would need huge financial and technical investments which the industry cannot afford in the near future. But even mechanisation is a complex option because its implementation poses a lot of challenges and difficulties.
However, in the short and medium term, there are a few options that could be used to alleviate the labour shortage. One of them could be the offering of more attractive incentive packages for workers and the provision of full-time or near full-time work during out-of-crop periods.
Another option could be the recruitment of workers from the non-traditional sugar communities as well as from other CARICOM countries. This is not new, because in the past when the sugar industry was alive in Barbados and St. Kitts etc., workers from Guyana were recruited to work in the sugar industries in those countries.
Whatever option or options are adopted it is abundantly clear that if the sugar industry is to be turned around and returned to its full potential, the shortage of labour has to be brought to an end permanently and the sooner the better.