Govt. provides more help to cane farmers
The current season will not be a good one for the Sugar industry. Not only did farmers have to face a drop on international markets, but they have also had crops damaged from the floodwaters of Hurricane Keith. Minister of Sugar Industries Valdemar Castillo told journalists today that government is doing all it can to salvage the situation and in addition to providing access to duty free fuel, is taking other measures to relieve some of the burden from hard working farmers.
Valdemar Castillo, Minister of Sugar Industry
“Government decided to increase the cost of sugar in the local market and that increase has helped to adjust the payment to the cane farmers. With the adjusted payment, the cane farmers are now able to meet their operational expenses, service their debts in the banks and to live. Government was able to get the Port Authority to reduce the handling costs or fees that the industry pays. Port Authority decided to reduce the fees by fifty percent, so that fifty percent that we save will be going into the industry and it will be shared with BSI and the cane farmers.”
Jose Sanchez
“How do you see the future for the sugar industry with cutbacks in importation by countries such as the U.S.?”
Valdemar Castillo
“I agree that at this moment we are facing a lot of problems in our markets, especially in Europe. The preferential markets will phase out sometime in the future and that will really put us into a lot of trouble. What government is doing at the moment for the Ministry of Sugar Industry and the Belize Sugar Cane Board, is that we have had a series of consultations with stakeholders in the industry, the Belize Sugar Industry, cane farmers, Belize Sugar Cane Board, the ministry, government, the Ministry of Agriculture, The Interamerican Development Bank, D.F.C. and we have been discussing and discussing and we are coming up with a strategic plan for the sugar industry. It is very important for us to have this strategic plan. In other words, we need to have a sugar policy for Belize and I believe that if we put that strategic plan into effect, we will be able to survive.”
Castillo says that the government is currently setting up a meeting with the Cane Farmers Association, the Small Farmers Bank, and the management of D.F.C. to work out a plan for farmers to acquire long term loans at affordable interest rates.
