…offering leased lands at Wales to cane farmers

THE Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) has made an impassioned plea to residents and businesses in sugar-dependent communities, to assist it in its mobilisation programme to increase harvesters’ attendance for the Second Crop 2017.
These include communities within the vicinity of Skeldon, Albion, Rose Hall, Blairmont, East Demerara and Uitvlugt Estates, GuySuCo said in a release.

According to the sugar corporation, it is important that these communities understand their roles in sustaining the sugar industry. “GuySuCo has been a major part of the economics and a key player in providing services such as, drainage and irrigation, health care, community development, education and other services. The second crop commences in mid-July, help the corporation to achieve the highest possible target for this upcoming crop. GuySuCo needs your support,” the corporation said.

Meanwhile, GuySuCo on Tuesday announced that as part of the Uitvlugt Estate Improvement Programme (UIP), the board of directors has approved that interested cane farmers with the requisite capacity be leased lands at Uitvlugt Estate. The corporation said a significant percentage of the canes that were milled at the Wales Factory are closer to Uitvlugt Estate and will now be transported to and milled at the Uitvlugt factory. “Cane farmers who were farther away from Uitvlugt Estate, who found it uneconomical to transport their canes to the Uitvlugt factory, were encouraged to apply to lease lands at Uitvlugt Estate,” the GuySuCo release stated.

It added that the factory at the Uitvlugt Estate is configured differently from the Wales Estate factory, hence modifications are currently being done to enable the factory to accommodate farmers’ canes delivered in trailers.
According to GuySuCo, prior to closure of the Wales factory, cane farmers had transported their canes to Wales Estate by punts and also by road in tractor/trailer units, both of which were unloaded by a cane gantry. On the other hand, the Uitvlugt factory, as presently configured, can only unload punts and uses a punt dumper for this task.

The modifications at Uitvlugt include the relocation of the cane gantry, cane scale, feeder table and auxiliary carrier from the Wales factory to Uitvlugt, this would be completed in time for the commencement of the second crop, 2017 at Uitvlugt. A temporary trailer parking area and wooden bridge across the irrigation canal carrying water from the Boerasiri conservancy is also in progress for completion by the start of the second crop – a permanent Trailer Park, concrete bridge over the irrigation canal, upgrade of dams (including Pumpkin Dam) to all-weather roads and other infrastructural works will follow in due course. The relocation of the gantry, cane scale, feeder table and auxiliary carrier is contracted to Nabi Construction Inc., whilst the Uitvlugt Estate is undertaking works on the temporary bridge and trailer park.