The Sugar Industry Prepared for COVID-19
This week, we have been covering the state of the productive sector. Dairy and the general livestock industry, as we heard, are having a difficult time during this state of emergency imposed in response to COVID-19. Even before the virus, the sugar industry faced challenges with a late start of its season due to last year’s prolonged drought. The virus is posing new hurdles in the industry, but stakeholders all agree that adapting new measures in harvesting and delivery can keep the industry alive. Here is News Five’s Duane Moody with a report.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The sugar industry remains an important part of the Belizean economy, contributing between three and five percent to the Gross Domestic Product. It also contributes to the livelihood of more than forty thousand persons in the north and a number of essential service suppliers use the sugar and molasses produced by A.S.R./B.S.I. The industry has faced many challenging including floods, hurricanes, pests and more recently the drought. The agro-processing industry in the west has been adversely affected by COVID-19, how is the sugar industry in the north faring off?
William Neal
William Neal, Communications & Government Affairs, Belize Sugar Industries Limited
“What we did as a part of the lessons learnt from our other brother and sister companies is that we developed a business continuation plan. And what we did was we looked at every aspect of our supply chain to ensure that we were putting in measures to make sure that they are able to continue, despite any infections and also in an effort to stop the spread of infections. We looked at every operation that we currently need or see as a necessary part of the industry. So take for example, because we know that we wanted to limit movement, we moved our factory shifts from eight hours to twelve hour shifts so that they come on before the curfew and leave after the curfew. We also looked at taking molasses to the port; we did that during the daylight hours and we would time it so that you can go and return in. we also trialled delivery of cane where we did stockpiling where the farmers came and would load enough cane so that they would not have to deliver at night, 24/7 as is customary; that didn’t quite work our as well as we thought that it would so we reverted with permission from government to around the clock delivery.”
As part of the Agro Productive Sector Group, challenges facing the industry were discussed and collaboration with all stakeholders – from the cane farmers to the millers and all those in between – have agreed to a contingency plan to ensure that the industry remains operation.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Area Representative, Orange Walk South
“The coronavirus or COVID-19 has created a different set of challenges but we have responded and united to keep on growing and ensuring safety through the sugar production value chain.”
Gabriel Martinez, Chairman, Sugar Industry Control Board
“As a vital member of the food and agriculture sector in Belize, we are working across with all sugar cane farmers association: B.S.C.F.A., CSCPA, NSCGA and PSCPA and with all government arms.”
Gabriel Martinez
Leticia Westby, Interim Director, SIRDI
“We are all in this together: from farm to factory; cane cutters, cane drivers, engineers; from mechanical to manual operations.”
The sugar crop season started late as a result of the drought and production is at forty-five percent so far. With the coronavirus pandemic, there were a number of changes made to keep everyone safe and adhere to the limitations of the state of emergency and curfew, while still meeting the quota for the season.
William Neal
“We don’t have any confirmed cases in the Orange Walk District; we have in Corozal, but we wanted to make sure that people felt comfortable to actually move around as much as possible. So we did things with where the drivers congregate, we actually utilize a drone that has a speaker attached to it that reminds drivers not to congregate, to stay in the cab of your truck. We continue with the nonmedical masks that have been made by women’s groups that are linked to the associations, we are distributing those to cane farmers, to the drivers, to cane cutters, harvesting group leaders, everybody in an effort to ensure that we can continue to work. And we are actually distributing two masks so you can wear one, you wash the other one and sanitize it. We’ve donated to the industry itself, the other stakeholders, five thousand four hundred plus masks. And then we are also outfitting our factory, our farm and our admin with more than two thousand masks.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
