Cane Farmers Day

If you’re from Belize City, or anywhere else but the north of the country, odds are that you may not have known that today was El Dia de Los Caneros, or Cane Farmers Day. There are about five thousand six hundred cane-farmers in the Orange Walk and Corozal districts, so it is a big deal, an annual event to celebrate the closing of the crop season. This year was a banner year in the industry, so there was all the more reason for it. Mike Rudon headed north this morning and has the story.

Mike Rudon, Reporting

Cane Farmers Day celebrated at the Barracks in Orange Walk Town had the air of a mini-Agric show, with elaborate opening ceremony….musical presentations, booths with products on display and the requisite crowd and good cheer from cane-farmers from the eighteen divisions of the northern districts.

Zune Canche, Organizer of the Event

“This event; this is the third year that we are doing it. Previously in the years before it had been done just by the Orange Walk division. The Belize Sugar Cane composes of the two divisions Corozal and Orange Walk but this time we tried to give it the boat division. So we have Corozal and Orange Walk division here. In the future, we want it to be this way that we have both divisions so that we can come.”

There were vendors doing serious business and booths from companies promoting and selling everything from internet and cable to tires and lube services.

Zune Canche

“Initially this started with the idea it is the end of crop ad they wanted to celebrate the hard work that the cane farmers do. And also we have different persons from the branches to come and sell their food.  We also invite different persons from the branches, we have eighteen braches, so we also invited different persons to sell their foods. As well for the business community for them to be able to give the cane farmers promotions and different items that they general require for their crop and for their daily needs. So in that manner giving that the cane farmers as an industry provide so much to businesses, they can at least give them something back. And it is a time to celebrate because this year was a good year for them.”

The mood was festive, the music was loud and everyone seemed to be having a good time. It is an annual event, and a big day for the cane-farmers, businesses and vendors and the community.

Zune Canche

“The response has been very good. Cane farmers are here from every branch, the businesses provided gift items to raffle for the cane farmers. So the response has been very good ad we appreciate all that they have done  and we hope that they continue to offer these things for the cane-farmers.”

During the opening ceremony, awards were also handed out for highest sugar cane quality, senior male and female cane farmers. And this year there was even a Science and Technology Award for Bishop Martin High School and an Arts and Culture Award for the Corozal Community College Marching Band, which won first place in this year’s Bandfest. Mike Rudon for News Five.