The challenge of managing cane production

The “make do policy”: Running repairs to a Guysuco tractor

Of the four components that comprise the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) – Agriculture, Factory, Human Resources/Industrial Relations and Finance – Agriculture is by far the largest; in quantitative terms Agriculture represents 65 per cent of GuySuCo.

More than that, it is, arguably, the most difficult component to manage. Each of the other three components of the company must look to the field in contemplating both their own individual fortunes and the fortunes of the sugar industry as a whole.

The assessment of the performance of agriculture as a component of the industry’s overall performance in recent years as set out in the company’s 2009-2018 Strategic Blueprint is both blunt and disturbing. “Since 2006, the corporation failed to achieve cane production targets. The production achieved in 2008 was the lowest in