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Jul 14, 2022 News
– GAWU pins low production on this, abandonment of lands
Kaieteur News – An upsurge in rodents in canfields is inflicting serious damage to sugar production, even as the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) has abandoned over 6000 hectares of fields, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union has said.
In a recent missive GuySuCo said that deficiencies in its tillage capacity are among the main factors in it not reaching its production targets. To help the corporation, government reportedly donated six articulated and four John Deere tractors last June. The corporation is seeking a further $1B from the administration to secure more machines to meet the tillage needs. The devastating 2021 flood was also a contributing factor to the low output which saw production falling behind a revised 70,000 tonnes target last year, to 57,995 tonnes, and the setting of a low 66,000 tonnes production target for this year.
As GuySuCo recovers from the effects of the flood and seeks to vastly improve its tillage capacity, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is adamant that those issues are among many more responsible for the low output GuySuCo is experiencing. In a public missive responding to last Sunday’s full page advertisement by GuySuCo titled, “GuySuCo sets the records straight” the GAWU highlighted that inadequate use of existing machines, rodents and the unauthorised abandonment of sugar lands are also pushing down production levels.
GAWU said that GuySuCo lamented the impact of the 2021 floods and failure of the gear box at the Uitvlugt Estate for its historically low 2022 first crop production of 13,000 tonnes of sugar. But in determining its production target for this year, GAWU argued that the corporation would have had to evaluate the quantity and quality of canes within each field it plans to harvest before harvesting commences. “Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the many ‘sugar professionals and experts’ in the Corporation must have recognised the condition of fields and formulated an estimate that is realistic and attainable for first crop 2022,” the Union submitted. The reality, the union said, is that targets set by the ‘sugar professionals and experts’ were not achieved and to compensate for the inaccurate estimate, the Corporation resorted to harvesting immature canes slated for the second crop of 2022 at Albion and Blairmont Estates.
The Union said that a reduction in cultivation exists since it learnt that a decision was taken to temporarily abandon lands which have canes higher than five years old. “We have learnt that at Albion some 3,080 hectares equivalent to approximately one-third of the cultivation was abandoned. At Blairmont, it is said a similar proportion was also abandoned.” It is said that these major decisions affecting production and productivity were taken without the consent or knowledge of the Board of Directors and are having major implications for output, the Union informed.
GAWU said it understands that the abandonment came against the background of lower cane productivity, despite data for the recently concluded 2022 first crop indicating that fifth ratoon and older canes were yielding 34 tonnes cane per hectare (tch) while 4th ratoon canes are yielding 32 tch. With such yields, the Union said it is logical for anyone to question the rationale of abandonment. Additionally, “we understand that the field abandonment programme has taken place in a haphazard manner.” According to them, abandoned fields are usually flooded to prevent weed, rodents and grass, but this was not done.
As a result, GAWU said the fields are confronting a major upsurge in rodents which are known to inflict significant damages on young canes. “A source has informed GAWU that it caused the Corporation not too long ago to approve an emergency purchase of rodenticide to combat the situation.”
GAWU continued that while the sugar company bemoaned an absence of tillage arising from the absence of a suitable fleet of tillage tractors, the equipment were also underutilized. It said that at Albion, the tillage tractor fleet was available 72.8 percent of the 46 available opportunity days during the 2021 second crop, but claimed that the equipment was utilised only 37.1 percent of that time. “It informs that the fleet though available was not operable for substantial periods of time,” the Union concluded. It said however that despite the operational deficit, the estate realised 78.4 percent of its tillage target. It remarked therefore that if utilization improved, it would be fair to conclude that the tillage target could have been realised and surpassed. “It then begs the question as to whether the adequacy of tillage tractors is really the sole issue for poor production.” Given the data, “in our view, demonstrates that tillage is not the only challenge,” but that “more serious agronomic issues need to be addressed in addition to tillage.”
Given that the faulty gear box at Uitvlugt Estate was highlighted as a big contributor to low production, GAWU said it learnt that the ‘sugar professionals and experts’ at GuySuCo, “were well aware of the mill turbine gear condition and damage sustained in the latter part of 2021.” The Union said that the ‘sugar professionals and experts’ advised on welding repairs against procurement of a new gear to make the unit operable for first crop 2022. Instead the Estate had to abandon its first crop because the welded and locally fabricated gear failed. “If a new gear was ordered when the damage was observed, the aborted first crop or at least part of it could have been salvaged.”
The GAWU believes that Estate potential is very low and there are other instances where proper field standards are not being kept. “The conditions in the fields are demonstrated by the cane yields which are declining and indicating an unhealthy situation.” The Union reiterated that while tillage is said by GuySuCo to be the challenge,” we have seen even when tillage is accomplished the results are below traditional yields indicating other challenges are present.”
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