COI Tackles Low Sugarcane Production in Northern Belize

Members of the commission visited Belize earlier this year to conduct preliminary assessments of the sugar industry with various stakeholders. Today, one of the first questions the commission posed to B.S.I. representatives had to do with the low level of sugarcane productivity in Belize. The commission noted that, based on preliminary findings, the sugar industry in northern Belize has been struggling to increase yield for decades. Shawn Chavarria pointed to a lack of political support. OIivia Avilez, the Cane Farmers Relations Manager at B.S.I., referenced a need for new varieties of sugarcane, as well as overused farmlands.

 

Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, ASR/BSI

“Belize has had consultants, has had studies done to make recommendations, to see what needs to improve to ensure the industry has a long-term viable future. So, it is not for a lack of knowing what the issues are. We know what are the issues. I think the issue is that there hasn’t been the political support to ensure that these reforms, these changes are implemented. I think that has been one of the biggest obstacles to transforming the industry to where it needs to go.”

 

Olivia Avilez, Cane Farmers Relations Manager, ASR/BSI

“What is the root cause of this issue? From what we have seen, one of the key areas is that we have very little replanting. The replanting is required in an industry, for example fifteen percent of your area should be replanted annually and you should not stop that because sugarcane, yes, it is a grass, very resilient grass that we can extract sugar from, but it needs to be replanted every seven years depending on the variety. Key to this is the cane varieties and BSI research project has been researching the different varieties that can be adopted here in Belize with the assistance from the Barbados Breeding Station. The cane varieties are important to be diversified. We rely on one specific variety, B-seventy-nine covers about seventy-five percent of our areas, and nothing is wrong with that variety but we cannot rely on one variety, like in the past, the cania blancita, B fifty-two was wiped out with one disease, smut.”