The end of May will mark five months since the sugar estate at Wales, West Bank Demerara ceased operating; and, to date, farmers are still awaiting construction of the direct road link to transport their produce to the sugar estate at Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara.
Forty-seven-year-old Leyland Bowman used to plant more than 7 acres of cane in the past
Earlier this week, this newspaper caught up with a few cane farmers who live at La Retraite, a village in the lower West Bank Demerara area. More than one year ago, these same farmers had expressed grave concern over the many uncertainties surrounding their venturing into production of alternative crops, as opposed to sugarcane cultivation. Today, this level of uncertainty remains high, and the farmers have detailed a litany of financial, drainage and other infrastructural challenges associated with abandoning a crop which many had cultivated over the decades to begin producing crops which they have no experience cultivating.
Hesley Jacobs at his La Retraite farm. One of his sugarcane plots is in the distance
Guyana Times was told that much of the land at La Retraite was tailored for sugarcane planting, hence farmers are encountering difficulty adjusting to the crop changes. Much acreage has been allocated to the cultivation of diversified crops, but many farmers still attempt to hold on to what they know best.
Opting not to ‘watch and wait’ on the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to have the road to Uitvlugt estate constructed, the La Retraite farmers have collaborated with farmers in Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara to craft a route to transport their canes to Uitvlugt estate. This initiative has, however, turned out to be not as lucrative as they had hoped, leaving many farmers crestfallen since, in most instances, the West Bank farmers can make only 1 or 2 trips per day to Uitvlugt.
Farmers note also that sections of the route became nearly impassable when it rains heavily. La Retraite farmer Hesley Jacobs has “lived and breathed sugar cane” all his life. He indicated that he had made four trips to Uitvlugt, transporting his produce during the most recent crop. Due to the nature of its growth, much of the canes in his fields have grown back after being harvested, but the farmer is at a loss over what his next moves should entail.
Is this the end? Roger Caryll overlooking his plot last year
“That is the ratoon that just grow back there, and I threw a little fertiliser on it, hoping to test it out again on this crop — to see how it would work,” he explained.
He explained that he had encountered great difficulties in transporting the cane to Uitvlugt because the road is improperly constructed, and he is thus greatly dissuaded from continuing to cultivate sugarcane; but cultivating other crops has reduced the income to which he has become accustomed as a principal cane farmer.
“Yea man, it difficult because I have a lot of expense. I borrow money and now I have to pay back the loan. I think with the cane you used to get a faster turnover; because if you plant fruit trees now, you wouldn’t be able to reap until after a year or two. Coconut is three years, and some plants might be five years. There are some improved varieties now, but I don’t have them. But by the grace of God, I am still trying,” the veteran cane farmer explained.
“You got to do something; you got to survive, and if [farming] is your only source of survival, you have to do what you have to do,” Jacobs stressed.
He said he has shifted his focus to “little cultivations” of bananas, plantains and cassava, and noted that his nephew cultivates coconuts and oranges, among other crops.
Farmer Roger Caryll, whose family has been cultivating sugarcane for over 40 years, said he intends to leave sugar cultivation for rice cultivation, but hefty financial obligations have prevented him from progressing in this direction.
“I need to change my crop from cane to rice…to turnover is a lot of money. I still got over $5 million in loans to pay, and cane farming was my only income to pay [off] that money,” he indicated.
Caryll is suggesting that Government perhaps shouldn’t bother to construct the route to Uitvlugt, but should instead allocate that money as subsidies to assist farmers to diversify to other crops.
“That (constructing the road to Uitvlugt) is a waste of a time! wear and tear is very high, and that’s why [a lot of] men pull a little and plough down their canes; because, when you look at it, you [are] spending nearly 4 or 5 hours to transport your canes, and to do two trips will have you returning in the night,” he posited.
Caryll feels that returning late at night poses a threat to safety, as farmers who are licensed firearm holders may want to protect themselves from vehicle operators traversing their lands in the dark of night when they are unaware of who is passing through their property.
“Instead of spending billions on the road, Government could give farmers like a billion (dollars) to help them to go into new crops,” Caryll maintains.
He is firmly of the view that Government should dialogue with farmers to directly address their concerns.
Farmer Leyland Bowman, who formerly used to plant more than 7 acres of sugar cane, indicated that all his bananas and plantains have been affected by flying pests. Declaring that new crops such as bananas and plantains take much more time, money and effort to maintain, he described his situation as “rough”, adding that he has to shoulder the entire burden of maintaining and harvesting these crops as he can’t afford to hire any employees.
“I got to fight. It ain’t easy, it’s real tight and I got a family…(The closure had) a big impact (on my livelihood), because (cultivating these new crops) is not like (cultivating) cane, where you could just throw the manure and spray. This is very hard,” Bowman, who also supports his 4 grandchildren, stressed.
This 47-year old farmer who grew up in sugarcane cultivation highlighted that collapsed dams and water not draining off the land fast enough have led to episodes of flooding in his fields. This has also resulted in losses, and Bowman is appealing to the relevant authorities to look into rehabilitation of the canals.
Guyana Times contacted Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Denis Jaikarran, to get a response to the reports of poor drainage at La Retraite. He indicated that the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) had received no such reports, and he said that once farmers report the issue, the RDC would take “immediate action”.
Agriculture Minister Noel Holder earlier this week told Guyana Times that he couldn’t say if construction of the road to Uitvlugt had started, or if any contract in this respect had been issued.
“I can’t put my hand on whether or not the contract was awarded at Uitvlugt,” he declared.
Earlier this month, Guyana Times reported Uitvlugt Estate missing its production target for the first crop by just over 1300 tonnes. Two reasons advanced for this shortfall were rat damage to crops, and shortage of canes to accommodate the production process. This publication had also reported that much of the canes from several locations on the West Bank of Demerara could not go to Uitvlugt for processing.
The road linking West Bank Demerara communities to Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara is yet to be constructed. Wales estate ceased accepting cane from private farmers in mid-December 2016, earlier than the intended date, and this has caused much losses for cane farmers. GuySuCo, also, abandoned most of the sugar cane it had under its control.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation has recently threatened that if some 375 Wales sugar workers continue to withhold support from the Uitvlugt Improvement Programme, it may be forced to shut down the Uitvlugt Estate. Additionally, the Enmore and Rose Hall Estates are slated for closure by yearend, as per Government’s White Paper presented by Minister Holder on May 8.
