MONTEGO BAY, St James — MEMBER of Parliament for Western Westmoreland Wykeham McNeill wants Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton to meet with the cane farmers in Westmoreland regarding their future following the sale of the Frome Sugar Factory to Chinese firm, Complant.

McNeill said Tufton should meet with the farmers “to discuss the process, hear their concerns and inform them as to what provisions have been made in the negotiations with respect to them”, Dr McNeill appealed.

McNeill noted that the majority of the 1,503 cane farmers who produce close to 280,000 tonnes of cane, or over half the production of Frome, are located in his constituency and that over the years the farmers and the sugar company have had a “symbiotic relationship”.

“The sugar company generally assist with a number of things such as the bulk purchasing of fertiliser and herbicide and also with the preparation of the farm lands,” reasoned the MP.

McNeill noted that there are a number of farmers occupying over 1,600 acres of land leased to them by the Government and are uncertain whether these leases will be renewed by Complant.

“These farmers produce over 35,000 tonnes of cane and they do not know what is going to happen to their lands after completion of the agreement with Complant. Will their leases be renewed, what will the tenure be and what rates will the leases be renegotiated?” he asked.