Farmers and B.S.I. at Peace as Cane Crop Season open

In January, Belize Sugar Industries and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association finally reached an agreement, ending their prolonged negotiations. Just a year ago, the dispute had escalated to public demonstrations and road blockades. This year, however, the sugar industry faces new challenges: climate change, inaccessible sugar roads, and fungal diseases affecting the crops. We spoke with several stakeholders today, who emphasized the strong commitment of both entities to work together and tackle these issues head-on.

 

Shawn Chavarria, Financial Director, B.S.I.

“Certainly  a welcome treat for us to be able to, have a Christmas break where really you didn’t have to worry about trying to negotiate a commercial agreement and when we will start. So that’s certainly welcome compared to a year ago. And so having, put that aside, then the focus now is really in ensuring that we make the most out of this crop. We try to minimize our losses and maximize revenues as best as we can. And so that really requires a collaborative effort with all stakeholders to ensure that we achieve them.”

 

Alfredo Ortega, Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A.

“As you know  last year we signed a two year extension addendum of the agreement. So this year we don’t have anything to sign. We are already in peace for this year, as you rightly said. So we have to continue on when time comes that we need to negotiate. Then we will start negotiating again with the men. So at this point in time, everything is okay between us. We have signed for at least this coming year again. So we need to work in peace because at the very end, what we want to see is our farmers really get the benefit of their labor.”

 

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https://archive.channel5belize.com/archives/263281