By Cedric Johnson, Gleaner WriterWESTMORELAND:
CANE FARMERS in Westmoreland and Hanover are demanding that Jamaica Cane Product Sales (JCPS) and the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) ensure speedy disbursements of the final payments on cane they have supplied.
The farmers say they need the funds to finance planting for the next crop. "On behalf of our members, I am calling on those responsible to make sure that this payment is made by the end of October or at latest, the first week in November," said Astill Sangster, chairman of the West End Cane Farmers' Association, on Wednesday.
"The replanting loan has not yet materialised and the farmers are expected to begin preparation for the coming sugar crop in a few weeks time. We are in dire straits, in fact, we are facing a financial crunch," said Mr. Sangster.
The farmers have already got two payments totalling $1,100 per tonne. They expect the third payment to be $160.00 per tonne.
The total payments amount to $1,260, which the farmers also complain is inadequate to cover their production costs which amount to about $1,400 per tonne.
The cane farmers representative also said he was proposing to the industry's prices committee that it look into the rates and payment system for cane especially within the Frome factory area as negotiations were about to take place for the 2003-04 sugar crop.
"You see, at the present rate of payment, the farmers will certainly not be able to meet pending increases in our operations," he said.
Meanwhile, cane farmers in the area have been complaining that the final payment they will be receiving will be less than what other farmers in other cane farming areas will get per tonne. They are also asking for flood relief assistance to help them to replant.
According to Alexander Barnaby, a cane farmer: "Many hectares of canes were destroyed by flood rains last year. We received no help while farmers of other crops got financial assistance from government. This is certainly not fair," he said.
