By Francis Quamina Farrier
THE future of Sugar production in Guyana at this time –  February 2022 – is to some degree, hazy. However, there was a period of over 200 years when sugar was king in British Guiana. As a matter of fact, the sweet product of the sugar cane was referred to as “King Sugar” and brought in a high percentage of the national income and foreign exchange of the nation. A song was even composed to the honour of King Sugar which is entitled, “SUGAR IN THE MORNING.” Thousands of Guyanese earned their livelihoods directly or indirectly from the sugar industry. While most of the lower-level sugar workers lived their lives “from hand-to-mouth” and very much in poverty, those at the top end middle-managerial level lived their lives in virtual opulence, receiving large salaries and with fringe benefits such as free cars, medical coverage, membership of high-class clubs, free domestic assistance, as well as paid holiday trips abroad, among others. The majority of managers were from the United Kingdom and were treated like royalty by the locals. They lived the good life on the backs of the hard-working Guyanese workers. They rode on horseback or mounted on mules when going or coming from trips to the backlands to check on the progress of the growing sugarcane and ensure that the local workers were carrying out their duties as prescribed. There was a story of a young man fresh out of college in the UK European overseer, who did not know the difference between young sugarcane and tall grass. Nonetheless, he was at the top of the operational ladder in the sugar industry, with corresponding salary and perks which the position brought with it.

There was the status quo that while the European overseer was mounted on his horse or mule going to or from the backdam, running astride or just behind, was a youngster, usually in his early to mid-teen years. His working title was “mule boy” and he would be running barefooted along the slippery mud dam in the rainy season and the rock-hard dam during the dry season when the hot tropical sun would bake the earth to an iron-hard surface. That made the feet of the mule-boy become exceedingly tough, with the toes wide open separated from each other. Mule-boys hardly ever wore footwear, which was somewhat difficult since their feet were unshapely for such an exercise. The mule-boy usually carried coat, umbrella and such necessities for the overseer who was riding the mule, while he ran behind the rider. But those items of protection were for the rider, not the mule-boy who carried them. Should a shower come, the raincoat and umbrella were handed to the overseer, while the mule-boy continued totally exposed to the elements as he ran behind his master. The ‘king’ on horseback did not care about the discomfort of the mule boy as he did his best to ensure that he remained as dry as possible.

Most of my growing-up years on the East Bank of Demerara was adjacent to large sugarcane fields. Looking out of the eastern windows of the cottage in which I grew up, one could have seen the sugarcane fields as they stretched into infinity. From the eastern windows of my home, I saw the sunrise hundreds of times. Canals that were dug by enslaved Africans centuries before separated the fields. I learned to swim in one of those canals. In recent years, that canal has been filled in and is now a roadway. Metal punts were how the harvested canes were transported from the fields to the factories to be processed into sugar. A by-product is molasses. In other sugar-producing countries such as Trinidad, Barbados and Belize, the harvested sugarcanes are transported by trucks. In the earlier years of my experience, I saw mules pulling the punts, going past my home and onward to the factory. Later, tractors were introduced to pull the punts, and the mules were literally put out to pasture. I also saw the hard-working cane cutters working in the fields which were previously put on fire to dislodge snakes and other creatures which lived in the fields as the cane was growing. Looking at those cane-cutters working so hard, fetching large bundles of the cane on their heads, and dumping them into the waiting punts, was really hard work which King Sugar demanded. While the long-gone era of King Sugar is gone and Guyanese are now focused on oil and gas as bringing in wealth to our beautiful Guyana, those brick chimneys continue to stand tall, and in a way, asking that we look at them and remember when they played a vital role in the country’s economy. They are now a vital part of Guyana’s historical monuments and glorious history. In a way, they can be included in our tourism industry, a second life for them as it were.

Earlier in this article, I mentioned growing up on the East Bank of Demerara, which had three active “grinding” sugar factories at the time – at Ruimveldt (where the BANKS DIH rotunda now occupies), one at Houston and another also at Diamond. As a matter of fact, as students, we were taught the importance of the sugar industry and that the Diamond Sugar factory was the largest in British Guiana; that brought much pride and joy to students of schools on the East Bank of Demerara. While there has been a high reduction of sugar production in Guyana since the turn of the century, sugar is no longer king. His crown has been removed.