Trelawny cane farmers assured Long Pond is on track
WESTERN BUREAU — Following this week’s meeting with CEO of the Sugar Company of Jamaica, Livingstone Morrison, cane farmers in Trelawny are now satisfied that their concerns about the productivity levels at the Long Pond sugar factory will be addressed.
According to Delroy Anderson, chairman of the Long Pond/Vale Royal Cane Farmers’ Association, Morrison has given them the assurance that the factory will process all the cane they supply during the 2003 crop.
“We had a very good meeting with Mr Morrison. He listened to our concerns and he has asked the management of Long Pond to redouble their efforts and try to solve the problems affecting the crop,” Anderson said.
“He has promised that he will put everything in place to have all the farmers’ cane reaped by the end of June,” the chairman added.
Last week, angry cane farmers demonstrated in front of the Long Pond sugar factory in the parish, and issued an ultimatum for the SCJ head to meet with them within seven days to discuss the poor performance of the parish’s sole sugar producing plant.
The farmers had argued that at the rate at which the plant was manufacturing sugar, it was almost impossible for the projected 150,000 tonnes of canes targeted for the year to be processed.
They cited faulty factory equipment and a lack of manpower as the two main factors affecting the crop.
According to Anderson, Morrison has agreed to address the existing manpower and mechanical problems.
“The SCJ boss has also set performance targets for the managers at the factory and has placed them on 24-hour call in order to address the problems facing the factory,” an industry source told the Observer .
Since the start of the 2003 sugar crop, cane farmers in the parish have been supplying their cane to the Long Pond sugar company, due to last December’s closure of the Hampden sugar factory.
Since that time, they have argued that the Long Pond sugar factory does not have the capacity to process all the cane in the parish and have steadily called for the reopening of the Hampden facility.
