If you were a little unclear about G.O.B.’s rejection of the B.S.C.F.A., the Prime Minister went further. While he met with ASR/B.S.I. on Wednesday, he has no wish to do so with the association even though he had said on Monday that he will reach out to the two sides to find out what true […]
So to wrap it all up, we picked out the relevant statement which clearly shows the Prime Minister’s frustration with the continuing chaos in the industry. While Barrow has maintained that he can’t run roughshod into a private company, some observers say that just as he did with other private companies like B.T.L., he could […]
Just when you thought you’d gotten all the bad news the sugar industry could dish out, there is more. News Five has confirmed that fair-trade has written to the B.S.C.F.A. in regards to the motion passed on Sunday to disburse some four million dollars to cane-farmers. The money which farmers are demanding is fair-trade money […]
But despite that clear warning from fair-trade, today officials at the B.S.C.F.A. are busy preparing to disburse checks to the almost five thousand five hundred registered cane-farmers in Orange Walk and Corozal. So long story short, if that money is disbursed, the projects come to a crashing halt. The decision has been causing no end […]
While four million dollars may seem like a lot of money, divided between five thousand five hundred dollars, it only comes up to a little over seven hundred dollars per cane-farmer. The Association has been meeting with the eighteen directors to try and find a way around the mandate of the farmers but that has […]
The Northern Caucus of the People’s United Party this afternoon issued a statement on the state of affairs in the lifeblood of the north. The caucus calls on the Sugar Industry Control Board to declare the crop open by January fourteenth 2015 and on the B.S.C.F.A. and ASR/B.S.I. to return to the negotiating table. The […]
Fair-trade dropped a bombshell on the B.S.C.F.A. today concerning the disbursal of four million dollars to farmers. Prime Minister Barrow went on record earlier this week to say that he will be reaching out to the B.S.C.F.A. and B.S.I. once again to find out what their respective positions are on the negotiation process. That announcement […]
Following on the heels of Sunday’s meeting with cane-farmers, letters have been sent to both the SICB and the Prime Minister requesting intervention and immediate action. So far there has been no official response, nor to our knowledge, any meetings with the parties. But the Prime Minister has made no secret of his feelings on […]
Even as the B.S.C.F.A. tries to chart a path over rocky roads and through shark-infested waters, there are increasingly loud reports of discord among farmers. News Five has covered every meeting of the general assembly, so we know first-hand that there are many farmers who want the crop to start now. With what’s happening now […]
The Prime Minister has been the man guiding the ship of government’s intervention in the sugar-cane crisis, but without doubt his navigator has been Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega. So we thought it was fair to ask that gentleman for his take on the current crisis. Vega claims that what happened at Sunday’s meeting of […]
The only thing for certain in the sugar industry is that it is back to square one and tonight, the industry finds itself at rock bottom. While there is urgent need to start the sugar crop, it is still not known when the Tower Hill mill will begin to grind. Here is why. On Sunday, […]
Both the B.S.C.F.A. and Lucilo Teck were making the media rounds this morning. Teck, a former secretary of the B.S.C.F.A., maintains that the purpose for seeking an injunction would have been to prevent the committee of management from signing unto the agreement with ASR/B.S.I. since it was unauthorized to do so. Teck says that notwithstanding […]
When we checked tonight, there was no word yet on any possible meeting between the key players in the industry. But late this evening, the B.S.C.F.A. has written to the Prime Minister to intervene to bring the parties together. On Monday, the PM said the continued delay in the sugar industry will have dire effects […]
Turning to another major issue…The sugar cane crop season and the sugar industry are in serious jeopardy; in fact, the situation has regressed. At an emergency meeting of cane-farmers on Sunday, a majority rejected the proposed agreement between ASR/B.S.I. and the B.S.C.F.A., which means that for all intents and purposes, negotiations have broken down completely. […]
But before a vote was taken, there was a surprise announcement. B.S.C.F.A. attorney, Chris Coye, would tell cane farmers that the latest proposed agreement was an improvement. Chris Coye, Attorney, B.S.C.F.A. “New agreement does not take anything in any way from the farmers but provides more for the farmers than what the old agreement […]
But Coye’s position came under swift attack from Javier Keme, the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the B.S.C.F.A. Keme rejected Coye’s view that the new agreement provided farmers with the better deal. He accused Coye of flip flopping. Javier Keme, Chairman, Finance Committee, B.S.C.F.A. (Translated) “The thirtieth of November at our general assembly, […]
The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association is convening a special general meeting on Sunday in San Roman Village. The objective of the meeting is for B.S.C.F.A.’s committee of management to present to its membership an agreement that has been met with B.S.I. They, in turn, will cast votes in favor of or objecting to the […]
In a letter to B.S.C.F.A. Chairman Ezekiel Cansino on Wednesday, a resolution was put forward instructing the B.S.C.F.A. and its committee of management to support the application for a writ of mandamus filed by Teck to have the court order the Sugar Industry Control Board set a date for the start of the crop season. […]
The membership of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association is scheduled to convene a special meeting on Sunday in Orange Walk where a vote on the start of the crop season will be taken. Once the result of the exercise is favorable work can get underway at Tower Hill by next week. That, however, depends […]
The choices, according to Carballo, are rather straightforward. In essence, the committee of management for B.S.C.F.A. can be instructed to move ahead with the finalization of the agreement which can be ratified as early as Monday. The C.F.O. also reiterated that the crop cannot be opened without first having a commercial agreement in place. […]
Carballo says the consequence of a delayed crop, as well as the indefinite timeframe the process of litigation may take can certainly jeopardize the potential harvest which is estimated to be roughly one point three-five million tons of cane. Via Phone: Belizario Carballo, Chief Financial Officer, B.S.I. “In terms of the impact that it […]
On Sunday cane-farmers will meet in Corozal to decide the fate of the 2014-2015 sugar-cane crop. Well actually, it’ll be the 2015 crop since 2014 is pretty much done. We’ve heard from the B.S.C.F.A….both factions…and regardless of what happens on Sunday, not everyone in that Association is going to be pleased. But where Government is […]
Despite all the complications besieging the industry at this point, all parties can agree on one thing – they need the crop to get started. But they disagree on how that should happen. The more militant faction of the B.S.C.F.A., supported by the N.T.U.C.B., says that the government, through the SICB, can declare a start […]
And so, as we end off the year, that is where we are in the sugar industry. Throughout the latter months of the year we’ve brought you every aspect of the tangled story from ASR/B.S.I., the B.S.C.F.A. and the government. And we end our coverage of this issue for 2014 with an interview done with […]
Sunday will be a pivotal day in the future of this year’s sugar-cane crop. This morning the B.S.C.F.A. met in heated session, and agreed to go back to cane-farmers on that day. The plan is to break down the proposed agreement to farmers in detail, and there are two possible outcomes – one, a majority […]
