-GuySuCo officials aim for full steam production at Albion estate
-as mechanisation of sugar estate sowing progress in land preparations, planting

SETTING a target of producing more than 55,000 tonnes of sugar by 2026, mechanisation works have commenced at the Albion Sugar Estate in Berbice, Region Six.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) officials have reported ongoing activities at the sugar estate’s cane fields. These endeavours involve the clearance of forested lands to facilitate the substantial replanting of sugar cane.
The Guyana Chronicle witnessed land clearing, tilling, and planting during a recent visit to the sugar cane fields.

“We can have a wall of cane because this mechanise planting is a guarantee process where we can safely say our replanting programme will be completed; all fields will be into production now,” Yudhisthira Mana, the estate manager told this publication.

Mr. Mana, who along with several other officials from GuySuCo led a tour of media operatives into the cane fields, further explained that the ongoing process will guarantee the estate 20 per cent replanting annually, bringing sugar production at that facility to its full potential.

By 2026, it is projected that the Albion estate will have the capacity to produce over 55,000 tonnes of sugar.

WHAT IS MECHANISATION?
Simplifying the mechanisation process, GuySuCo’s agriculture engineer, Andre Paul explained it is the modernisation of the field operations to make it more efficient and effective.

Over time, this process is anticipated to decrease operational expenses. Lands are undergoing a conversion in this process.
“Initially, these were narrow Dutch beds about two to three rods in width and the beds would run from the cross canal to another cross canal, which is a short run and there is a centre drain at the middle that we refer to a four foot…these lands would have had some form of vegetation on them, so the first activity is to clear the lands.”

Simply put, the mechanisation process will see wider beds being prepared for planting.
Over the decades, land preparation for the sugar industry has been done by traditional means, and according to Mr. Mana, it’s ‘fascinating’ to see the mechanisation process come to life. An estimated 2,000 hectares of land are currently undergoing conversion.

In fact, the implementation of mechanised planting will address GuySuCo’s labour shortage at the Albion estate. At present, the estate possesses a labour force of 60 percent.

PUBLIC, PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Historically, the manual planting of sugarcane has been the customary practice. The manual harvesting of sugarcane is a common practice. Once the cane is harvested, occasionally the roots are left in the ground to foster the growth of new plants.
Intersecting the sugarcane fields are numerous canals.

A typical sugarcane field has canals covering nearly one-eighth of its surface. For irrigation, this complex network of canals is employed. To get the canes to the industries, these canals are also used for transit. From the fields to the factory, sugarcane is transported aboard punts, which are small, flat-bottomed boats.

However, with mechanisation, planting is done using heavy machinery.
This is through a public—private partnership with GuySuCo and Japarts, a local private construction company.
This joint partnership has seen GuySuCo completing 13.2 hectares a day.

According to an official from Japarts, engineers are working 24 hours per day, bringing new technology to the sugar industry.
Several heavy pieces of machinery, including a mechanical planter, are being used.

In fact, Ravindra Persaud, GuySuCo’s Head of Agri Research, said: This machine has the capacity to do two hectares in an hour. If we are looking at a 12-hour span, we can comfortably do 20 hectares in a 12-hour span and that will increase our production. We will have more canes going to the factory.”

During a demonstration, two rows of sugarcane were planted in three minutes and 15 seconds.
“[This] will increase our production significantly; we will be able to move our production to an upward trajectory and we will be able to lower cost.”

GuySuCo has two planting seasons. The first starts from mid-January to April while the second, which is the largest of the two, starts from mid-July-November.
The planting period consists of a total of 210 days.

With the mechanised approach, more planting will be done.
“We have three modes of planting manual, where men actually take the cane and stick it into the ground, now it takes 13 man days to plant a hectare. We have the semi mechanised planting where we have the trailers, where the trailers, that can do two fields a day that’s about 10 hectares,” Persaud said.

ALWAYS A NEED FOR LABOURERS
Although GuySuCo is heavily pursuing mechanisation to achieve its targets, Persaud assured that there is also a critical need for labourers.
“There is no need for the labour to feel scared of this machine because we have need for each and every laborer n this industry. This is just our process of enhancing the planting operation and ensuring,” Persaud asserted.

Recently, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that massive investment plans are in the works to ‘upskill’ sugar workers as the government works to create a more competitive and profitable sugar production industry.

“We’re in the process of mechanising the sugar industry and modernising the sugar industry. The next couple of years of investment is critical in building a competitive and profitable sugarcane industry here in Guyana and I assured we’re going to build a competitive and profitable [one].”

In the 2024 fiscal package, $6 billion was set aside for GuySuCo to improve the future production and operational efficiency of the sugar industry.
President Ali noted that, while this is being done, investments will be simultaneously made to advance the industry’s workforce.

“Important to this task is our human resource asset. This facility will have to be upgraded in keeping with what we want to achieve…we are going to invest in them to upskill their competency to transform them into skilled operators and workers …we want them to earn better, we want them to have a better life, a more honourable life a more dignified life. And we do so by investing in training, upskilling, retooling, and bringing them into the modernised frame of what the industry would look like,” the President had said.