(Jamaica Gleaner) Sugar cane farmers are to benefit from a 40 per cent increase in the price paid for sugar cane supplied to factories during this year’s crop.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Robert Montague, said cane farmers are expected to receive an average first payment of J$2,500 per tonne for the 2011/2012 crop.
He is urging farmers to aim to be cost effective in their cane production, so that they can benefit from improved prices next year.
Montague said cane production should be increased by just over 50 per cent from the current level of 1.52 million tonnes to 3.5 million tonnes by 2015.
He noted that this level of production will provide the raw material to permit the co-generation of electricity to the public grid.
