Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 18, 2014 News
As poor labour turnout continues to bite deep, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has announced plans to release a large piece of land in the West Demerara area to boost production.
The state-owned Corporation in a notice published Friday in the Guyana Chronicle, said it is inviting applications for over 500 hectares of land to be used for cane farming.
GuySuCo is targeting private cane farmers.
GuySuCo said that the particular piece of land has been out of cultivation for more than one year.
“In an effort to maximize the capacity of the Uitvlugt factory and to increase production, the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc, through its Agriculture Operations Department invites expressions of interests for outsourcing 500 hectares of land in 2014 to private cane farmers at the Uitvlugt estate.”
The applications are to be sent to GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer by June 12th.
It is not the first time that GuySuCo has released lands in the West Demerara area. Already, 1,000 hectares have been taken up by private cane farmers, reportedly right in the same area.
At Skeldon, some 500 hectares have been placed in the hands of private farmers as part of the modernization plans there.
GuySuCo has been facing severe problems with workers’ turnout which on average remained less than half at the eight sugar estates in recent years.
Faced with its lowest production in 23 years in 2013, GuySuCo and Government in a concerted move, and facing criticisms of the management of the industry, has been moving to introduce mechanized harvesting at a number of estates, including Enmore and Skeldon. Part of the process included converting the lands to accommodate the harvesters.
There has been significant interest in private cane farming, especially in the West Demerara area.
In December, GuySuCo disclosed that some 27 percent of the total area under cane lands by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has been converted to accommodate mechanical harvesting.
According to Raymond Sangster, General Manager of GuySuCo’s Agriculture Services, these lands – over 48,000 acres – do not include those under cultivation by private cane farmers.
“As labour availability declines, machines will be introduced. The conversion process is indeed very time consuming and also expensive and cannot be done overnight,” Sangster had said.
At Skeldon, 56% of the area under cultivation is configured for mechanical harvesting; 63% at LBI and 80% at Enmore.
The official has also said that with Uitvlugt showing a steep decline in labour, efforts are being made to convert some of the lands on that estate for mechanization.
This year, the industry is gearing to produce 216,000 tonnes. Already for the first crop, the industry has surpassed the target of 74,842.
Last year, GuySuCo consistently reduced the 260,000 tonnes to 190,000 tonnes, after it became clear that the target will not be reached. At the end of the year, the industry recorded a dismal 187,000 tonnes.
The corporation has been blaming weather and low workers’ turnout for its poor showing.
The Opposition has been demanding more accountability for an industry which at one time was the biggest foreign currency earner. It has now fallen behind gold and rice.
Government has been experimenting with overseas help from Europe and now India, to pull the industry back from the rut it has found itself in.
Its US$200M flagship project at Skeldon has failed to live up to expectations, with one technical issue after another.
Government has plugged $6B in the industry this year to help improve production.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
SportsMax – West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews delivered a stellar all-round performance to lead her team to a commanding 113-run victory over Pakistan Women in the first One Day...Kaieteur News – For years, the disciples of Bharrat Jagdeo have woven a narrative of economic success during his tenure... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]