LESS than a month after the sugar factories commenced grinding operations, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has acknowledged it is very unlikely that the industry will meet its 90,000 tonnes target for the present crop.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle at his Regent Road, Georgetown office yesterday, he said that, so far, approximately 10,000 tonnes have been produced.
But, although he cited unsuitable weather conditions and shortage of labour as the main reasons for the lower production by Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), he emphasised that the Government is making significant investments towards alleviating the problems.
He disclosed that $500M have already been invested in further mechanisation and GuySuCo is now in the process of procuring some additional equipment.
“I am hoping that an investment of $500M on procuring equipment, such as excavators, tractors and so on will help them to accelerate the mechanisation process which will help with the labour situation,” Ramsammy said.
The minister said, more specifically, the investment is going towards accelerating the process of field transformation, which, according to him, means transforming the fields that are now laid out for manual to more mechanised operations.
“The original goal was to have approximately 2,500 hectares of fields that are transformed from manual operation to mechanised, because the way they were laid out, originally, was for manual labour. So putting machines means that we have to go and re-engineer the fields and that is a very expensive thing,” he explained.
Own machinery
Ramsammy further pointed out that this exercise could cost hundreds of millions each year but procuring its own machinery to do the work could help in reducing the expenditure.
Stressing the importance of mechanisation, he said there has been a series of work interruptions and strikes which slowed production.
Nevertheless, he said that he has asked management to ensure that it works with the workers and their representatives in a way that creates less tension on the estates, because the workers are needed to achieve what is desired.
The minister recalled that, recently, there was a minor interruption at Enmore Estate, which was due to the lateness of a truck to pick up workers.
The truck had broken down on the way and, by the time it got to its destination, which was around eight in the morning, the workers decided they were not going to work.
“So it wasn’t a major issue but these things tend to add up,” Ramsammy observed.
He said that is why he has been working with the GuySuCo management, since he believes that it needs to address workers’ grievances a little more timely and diligently.
“This is our industry and we need to work together to make sure that it serves not only those who work in the industry but that it serves our country, it’s our country’s future,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, he related that the dry weather, which would be perfect for producing sugar, did not continue when the crop started in the first week of February.
“The rain came and so it has been creating a little bit of a problem for the operation of GuySuCo in the fields. So that’s one major problem. It’s not as disastrous as last year, last year, this time, GuySuCo couldn’t do anything, the rain just totally closed them down,” he remembered.
Remedial work
In addition, Ramsammy mentioned that all GuySuCo estates are, currently, operating with the exception of Skeldon which is undertaking some remedial work.
The South African firm, Bosch has been contracted to execute the modifications to fix problems the factory had been experiencing since it was commissioned in 2009.
The factory, which had been touted as the flagship of the local sugar industry, was, originally, slated to begin its operations on March 15 and Ramsammy said that is still on schedule.
Meantime, he advised that another $500M has been invested to improve the drainage and irrigation system at Port Mourant/Albion Estate.
“We expect, by June or July, to have new pumping stations at Rose Hall Town and at Albion and that will improve the drainage situation both for the cultivation area and the residential community, but it will also improve how we irrigate our fields,” he said.
Additionally, he said the upgrading of the Uitvlugt estate is also on the agenda for the next few years, in addition to the other investments that will contribute towards reaching the goal of surpassing 300,000 tonnes.
The minister also indicated that the estates are now acquiring canes from private farmers, in order to boost production and about 33 percent of cane produced is now by them.
He said between 30 and 40 percent of the cane for Wales Estate is from private farmers at Canal Polder and some 500 acres of land was recently given to others at Uitvlugt for cultivation and 500 more acres are expected to be given to farmers there for the next crop.