– banking on dry weather to boost cane farming
GuySuCo is banking on dry weather and a reliable outsourcing contract with private operators to push land expansion at Skeldon and boost cane cultivation in the industry a bit earlier than its projected 2012 target, but there are no indications of a major change in strategy.
The sugar corporation had set a target to have the estate fully prepared by the end of next year and no earlier as it tackles what has been described as a realistic plan. But the current strategy falls short of the goal set by President Bharrat Jagdeo that a sufficient cane supply must be ready by 2010 to feed the Skeldon factory, which has the capacity to process 1.2 million tonnes of cane annually.
The President had dismissed the idea of not having the required cane supply in the field until 2011 saying that it was not acceptable, and that steps must be taken to ramp up supply. He stated that government is prepared to pump additional resources into the industry if that is what is required, and called for a serious effort to be made in reaching the goal.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Errol Hanoman offered no indication that the President’s demand could be met, but he said the industry is working towards having 1.2 million tonnes of cane in the ground by 2011 considering total land development at Skeldon. However, the drive to ramp up supply earlier than projected has pushed the sugar corporation to bring in additional contractors to help in land preparation and to “speed things up”, Hanoman disclosed in an interview on Friday.
He said GuySuCo has a fleet [of tractors] which is operating, but observed that it can only do so much in terms of actual work on the ground. There is existing land and new land at Skeldon which are to be prepared. However, work will only increase after GuySuCo negotiates the contract with the operators it has identified.
Hanoman pointed out he was meeting individual farmers and had journeyed to Skeldon to hold talks with them last week in an attempt to gauge the progress that has been made since the President charged the industry to ramp up its cane supply. The CEO noted that once the cane is in the ground it takes about 10-12 months before it is ready for harvesting, and the weather permitting. Still, the focus remains on 2011, according to Hanoman, who added “we are hoping by the end of next year to complete all land preparation and planting”.
The CEO had disclosed at the opening of the Skeldon factory two weeks ago that the estate requires 9,000 hectares of new land, a portion of which is being cultivated by private cane farmers. The private farmers actually produce one third of the cane, while GuySuCo cultivates two thirds of the supply.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that GuySuCo is left to prepare some 2,000 hectares of land which had been set aside for cultivation. The private farmers are expected to prepare 4,700 hectares of land, but are currently way off target with some 3,500 hectares left to be put in place. This newspaper was told that the farmers are rapidly pushing expansion now that the factory is functional, but had some problems with financing which have been resolved.
‘It can be achieved’
Chairman of GuySuCo board Dr Nanda Gopaul told Stabroek News that the President has challenged the industry to ramp up supply ahead of projections and according to him, “it can be achieved”.
He said the board supports Jagdeo’s position and is working with the sugar corporation to have the land prepared in time for reaping at a period earlier than announced. He mentioned that GuySuCo is in talks to contract some of the land preparation activities.
Gopaul said the infrastructure is there to facilitate increased cane cultivation and the focus is now on land development. But he stressed private farmers have to remain on target, pointing out that they are monitoring what is happening on the ground. “We believe it can be done and we have started the process of what needs to be done while looking at various other things,” Gopaul stated.
According to Gopaul, increased cane cultivation had been part of the industry’s strategic plan, which he said, also aims at 20 per cent replanting throughout the industry. This, he said, is consistent with industry procedures, adding that 20 per cent replanting annually means “in a five-year period there is an overhaul of the entire cultivation”.
He sees the President’s charge to GuySuCo as a challenge and identified the next few months as being extremely critical. Gopaul asserted that they will utilize all the available land across the industry ensuring that no estate remains idle. But he also mentioned the weather stating that the earlier months of the year had been hard on the industry given the excessive rainfall.
Stressing the importance of having the land prepared while the industry is currently enjoying a dry season, Gopaul said the weather has affected production this year and in the past. But he said it is also important to have the land prepared because of the increased mechanisation in the industry.
Speaking on the blueprint the interim board, which he heads, had submitted to GuySuCo, he said it is not likely to be released until year end. He said the objectives set out in the plan coincide with some of the strategic plans already laid out by the sugar corporation and include maximizing cane cultivation and ensuring that a greater portion of the land is made suitable for mechanical harvesting among other goals.
‘Too early to judge’
President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Worker’s Union (GAWU), Komal Chand said he is holding back on assessing how plans are moving to boost cane cultivation in the industry until after the dry season.
“Cultivation is moving apace, but what I had stressed earlier is how unfortunate it is that the factory is functional and there is not an adequate cane supply,” Chand stated.
He told Stabroek News that his union fully endorses the comments made by the President two weeks ago, about fast-tracking GuySuCo’s plan to have cane in the fields earlier than 2011. He referred to the move to outsource land preparation as a good one saying that more tractors have to be engaged in the expansion which requires a substantial amount of work. However, he expressed some concern over how soon the corporation would iron out the contracts and have the additional machines in the fields, adding that several more large ploughs are urgently needed on the ground.
Chand said he is waiting to see how many private operators GuySuCo has mobilized and the magnitude of work which would be undertaken during the dry season. Additionally, he noted that progress is also dependent on the weather.
The GAWU president insisted that the new factory must be fully functional, pointing to issues with the punt dumper which he said was currently underperforming. He said too that there are other areas in the factory which need to be looked at, adding that a few other problems exist.
“There are going to be problems unless the factory is properly put in order,” he added.
