Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 30, 2014 Letters
Dear Editor,
Please allow me to respond to Mr E. B. John’s letter at page 4 of Kaieteur News Saturday 24th of May, 2014, captioned Private Cane Farmers to the Rescue. Mr. John, I agree with almost all that you have written but I have some useful insights and facts that you may not be aware of:
(a) No intelligent businessman or farmer would do any investment in cane at Skeldon. It makes no economic sense to do so. Because of the performance of the Skeldon factory and the failures of Guysuco, the existing Skeldon Cane farmers are in dire financial strain. Some farms have already gone out of existence.
(b) Guysuco has contractual agreements with the farmers. However, it does not honour any arrangements it has with the farmers nor does it follow the National Cane Farming Act. Instead, it is sucking the life blood out of the farmers by imposing ridiculous charges on the farmers like 50% mark up machine hours and refusing to pay farmers the money due to them after selling the sugar produced (farmers in other parts of the country have been paid already). As a result the farmers cannot pay their loans and do not have the resources to do proper crop husbandry to safeguard their crops.
(c) The National Cane Farming Committee is spineless, does not represent the best interest of Cane farmers and is being chaired by a political “hack”.
(d) Guysuco provides no meaningful assistance to the Skeldon farmers and cannot “apply its expertise to assist” when it does not listen to the experts in its employ.
(e) Not one cent of the E. U money went to the Skeldon Cane farmers and the figures show that they need it the most. I think that the E. U Ambassador should be aware of this by now.
(f) The Chairman of the board of Directors of Guysuco in his wisdom has one Estate Manager managing the two largest estates in the country (Albion and Skeldon) for the last 6 months. How is this humanly possible? It is common knowledge that every Estate Manager that has been sent to Skeldon has failed. For the last 5 days, that is, 22nd to 26th of May 2014 the TCTS at Skeldon Estate has been 40, 54, 81, 35, 40 respectively. How can the Skeldon farmers survive with this? How can there be a turn around with these outputs?
(g) Government made several promises to assist the Skeldon Farmers none of which have been kept. One that was critical to the survival of the farmers was made about four years ago when Government promised to lower the interest charges the farmers have been paying to the banks. The farmers are still waiting for this to happen. The industry is performing so poorly that it requires a “bailout” every year from the government. Yet there is no bailout for the Skeldon farmers who are suffering the brunt of it despite there best efforts. So Mr. John, Guysuco’s “Strategic Plan” is to guarantee that the Skeldon Farmers fail and thereby ensuring that the New Skeldon Factory is the greatest failure in the history of our country. It is a known fact that without the farmers the factory will fail. Given the resources the farmers will continue to better quality and quantity of canes. The Skeldon Cane farmers need to be rescued.
Anand.(Farmer@Skeldon)
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
Mar 28, 2024
Minister Ramson challenge athletes to better last year’s performance By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports – Guyana’s 23-member contingent for the CARIFTA Games in Grenada is set to depart the...B.V. Police Station Kaieteur News – The Beterverwagting Police Station, East Coast Demerara (ECD) will be reconstructed... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – In the face of escalating global environmental challenges, water scarcity and... 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]