ACCORDING to Rafael Suarez Rivacoba, the Director of International Relations for AZCUBA Group, manual cutting of cane is not the way for Jamaica’s sugar industry to continue if it is serious about becoming profitable. Rivacoba told the Jamaica Observer if a country’s sugar industry is going to develop, the manual cutting of cane has to stop. The suggestion made by the Cuban sociologist to discontinue the manual cutting of sugar cane in Jamaica was met with support, anger and other mixed reactions by the Observer’s online readers. Here are some edited comments:

Ellydeedo

Those sugar producers in Jamaica who are swift to undermine the mechanisation of the cane-cutting procedure are doing so only to maintain the tradition of slavery. The manual cane-cutting procedure is one of the only remaining parts of slavery in our country that must be totally abolished. To maintain such low procedural standard is also idiocy in modern times. The general characteristics of manual cane cutting are un-acceptable. Cane cutters cannot afford to give their children a proper tertiary education as their income cannot afford such luxury. They are undermined by society as being the lowest among them. They have been given no sick or accident insurance policy that would be beneficial to them in the event of an accident in the cane field.

They are all young men with a future; they can be trained to be mechanics, and operators of agricultural equipment. To say they cannot do anything apart from being representatives of a modern-day slavery organisation is again undermining them. They are all Jamaicans who are entitled to a better standard of living. Rafael Suarez Rivacoba is perfectly correct: Time to totally abolish slavery.

Feccah

Says a lot doesn’t it? Even a communist country recognises the need for restructuring their industries in order to achieve efficiency and lower cost of production, sometimes at the expense of labour or jobs. Political and other interests in Jamaica, on the other hand, have not devised an appealing and acceptable alternative to the workers concerned in order to adapt to this changing circumstance. They often think of their own welfare and the negative knee-jerk reaction to implementing anything new, instead of devising and executing overall beneficial long-term plans.

Risin2dtop

After reading this article, one may start to wonder if Jamaica was under the same 54-year embargo the US placed on Cuba.

Herbert Cato

@ Risin2dtop

It’s mental slavery and it’s not only the sugar industry alone. A lot of our publicly run institutions are included in this heap, hence our inability to move out of our present mindset.

mccormacklindel

We might have to ask Cuba to take us over as that is the only way Jamaica can experience first-world status.

lori

Oh boy, soon everybody will be out of a job as machines are taking over everything.

rider

@ lori

It’s amazing when Seprod decided to lay off hundreds of sugar cane workers these same people were chastising the government for not looking out for the poor workers. If tomorrow these sugar factories start to mechanise their operations these same bloggers going to crucify them and call them wicked.

Jankro

Lori, sometimes you have to make hard decisions in the name of progress.

Sheree

If we can’t adapt then we are dead in the water. We are living in a time of innovation and technology. The good and the bad come with that, and yes, that means some will be out of a job. So what can we do to adapt? There are opportunities and Jamaica has to roll up the sleeves and embrace the change so that even those out of a job find grounding to flourish in a new way. As one door closes, another will open. But we have to “manually” close the old door and open the new door.

Greg

It’s time to get rid of the machete and move forward.

_op Shelf

Machines can’t vote! Why do you think they are afraid to cut the ‘charity’ called public sector?

Andyb

Just look at the people that we’ve had as agriculture ministers and it will come as no surprise that we’re still so backward. Roger Clarke and Chris Tufton; what do any of these two men know about agriculture more than the layman, that qualifies them to be agriculture ministers? There’s a difference between ‘wuking grung’ and agriculture. Agriculture is a discipline that involves the use of advanced science and technology.

Chris876

Hahahaaa… show them how it’s done, Cuba. My country is so stuck in the past and it’s sickening and sad. Yes, the farmers may not be qualified to do anything other than cut the cane but once we go mechanical and expand like Cuba has, these said farmers can be trained to work in those factories. It makes no sense to do sugar currently; we do not have the comparative advantage for it or any other good. The Cubans have revolutionised the industry by even using the cane waste to power their factories. If we were serious, someone from Jamaica would visit Cuba and see exactly how they do it and implement their methods such as using railways to move the product, which can also be used by all farmers to send goods into Kingston. In addition they can even build a track straight to the wharf and markets and charge them a small fee which would be a lot cheaper than using gas.

revjoanporteous

These are heavy-duty machines and people will have to be trained to repair these machines. The cost of equipment, the life of the equipment and maintenance and spare parts and foreign exchange must also be factored into the operations. Jamaica does not manufacture parts and equipment.

I do hope when machines replace humans, all the government subsidies will be removed from the sugar industry. These machines can accrue great cost to maintain.

One machine will replace how many cane cutters at what cost?

What will it cost a company to continue to use cane cutters vs machines over a 10-year period?

I say this just to substantiate the claim that machines will maximise profit. Let us conduct a feasibility study between cane cutters and machinery in Jamaica as the facts need to be shown.

Please include the cost of replacing the machines and the life of the machine including spare parts, foreign exchange diesel oil and service. People who are selling equipment must also supply the information on their equipment. A comparative analysis would be a guiding framework for third world countries. Also replacing cane cutters with machines must be done on a phased basis over time if machines are more feasible in this area of agriculture.

fieldgar

“There is no money to be made by putting people in the field to cut cane.” So true, but there are a lot of votes to be made and that’s what really counts. Our short-sighted politicians will continue to ensure that their selfish needs are fulfilled even if it means the country continues to languish in poverty and hopelessness. We corner dark fi true.

Winston Watson

This should have been done decades ago and the workers retrained. But we seem to be viewing our tomorrow in a rear-view mirror.

jamdel51

Manual cane cutting looks too much like slavery. It should be abolished! We can learn from countries that abolished it what they did to fill the gap for the former cane cutters. No young people coming up today should have to cut cane. Provide trade schools or other training for them.