THE ALL Island Jamaica Cane Farmers Association last week announced that it would be establishing a sugar refinery in Trelawny in the area of the recently closed Hampden sugar factory. We recall the angry reaction of the farmers' organisation to the announcement of the closure by Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke last December as they declared the decision a betrayal by the government. They claimed the government had promised to keep the factory open and to underwrite a loan they were negotiating for the establishment of such an entity.
Receiving very little support from a public weary of its tax dollars being used to prop up unsustainable operations the Association backed off. It was apparently a strategic retreat and they have returned in high spirit with the assurance of private overseas funding that will ensure the realisation of their dreams.
The cane farmers must be commended for their unyielding belief in their industry especially in the face of the massive decline that has attended it over the past several years. They deserve commendation also for the bold step they are contemplating in moving from primary producer to the stage of the value-added. With rum the only real exception, we have for the four centuries of producing sugar, been content in simply extracting the raw material to export to other countries to be converted into the products that really bring wealth.
This proposed venture by the Cane Farmers Association will see them producing not only refined sugar to satisfy local demand but other by-products such as Ethanol and industrial alcohol. The immediate benefits to be derived include saving of foreign exchange through import substitution, reduced prices for sugar-based products, and increased foreign exchange earnings from export to CARICOM members.
Farmers will benefit in yet another way as the presence of the factory will increase the demand for cane which, according to reports coming out of the industry, is already in short supply. However, for this very reason the farmers association must make sure that its members have bought into the concept and are prepared to improve their production methods, increase yields and reduce costs.
It is no secret that the low sugar production of recent years is more a result of cane shortage than of factory inefficiency. We applaud the determination of the association but at the same time we implore them to ensure that their efforts do not go the way of the ill-fated Monymusk attempt.
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