Necessary questions

Today’s column begins with my response to two questions, which several readers have raised with me, privately. First, what lessons can be learnt from the information on GuySuCo’s overall performance indicator (tonnes sugar per hectare) provided in last week’s column? One key lesson is that compared to the performance as far back as 1960, when the indicator was 8.4 tonnes sugar per hectare, overall, the past two decades have witnessed a marked deterioration in performance. Thus, for the two most recent years for which I have data (2008-9), the average yield was only 4.8 tonnes sugar per hectare, that is, over 40 per cent lower than in 1960! Another lesson is that there has been relative stability of sugar yields at the reduced level of the 1990s and 2000s. Thus, the mean for these two decades was 5.64 and 5.91 tonnes, respectively. Thirdly, the data also reveal that there is a distinctly better performance for the Berbice-based sugar factories and estates than for those situated in Demerara.

As readers already know, in general, the agro-climatic features of Guyana’s coast support robust sugar cultivation. Sugar cane is also one of the hardiest commercial crops. Sugar cultivation is entirely located along the low-lying coast, where it is…..