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Cane Farmers Say BSI Must Sign to Bagasse Agreement Or “No Season!”
posted (December 16, 2013)
This weekend, Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association hosted an emergency general meeting to ask the farmers if they agree to the compromise hammered out by Prime Minister Dean Barrow.

As we told you last week, Barrow got BSI/ASR to change its position somewhat, agreeing in principle that the farmers should be paid for bagasse.

Still, there's no happily ever after, because there are still many sticking points in the letter BSI sent to the PM.

That letter was taken to the emergency meeting yesterday at Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico in San Roman Village, Corozal, and 7news attended. Daniel Ortiz got a chance to gauge the reactions of the farmers; here's his report.

FILE: December 11, 2013
Hon. Dean Barrow
"We are preparing to start the negotiation between the BSCFA and B.S.I., which negotiations will proceed on the basis that the payment of which bagasse is due, but that of course quantum must be agreed."

Daniel Ortiz reporting
But while an agreement for payment in principle sounds good, the mandate coming from the cane farmers at yesterday's emergency general meeting is that BSI must sign a binding contract saying that they will make a payment for bagasse, or else.

Daniel Ortiz
"Will the farmers deliver the cane based on today's meeting, will that happen?"

Alfredo Ortega - Vice-Chair: BSCFA
"Deliveries will happen once and for all we sign a bargaining agreement with BSI that yes they will be paying the farmers for the bagasse. Then once we can sign that and we have that as a binding agreement then we can negotiate for the start of a new crop. If there is no signing of anything that will bind that yes there will be a payment for the farmers, because yes they have accepted right now, but what they have accepted is a letter sent to the Prime Minister not to us (BSCFA), so when we meet with them in our negotiation - that is something that the farmers has placed on our shoulders again. They have reiterated once more that for any other issue that needs to be dealt with in regards to a start of crop, we need to have a signed commitment between BSI and BSCFA that a payment will be done for bagasse."

Daniel Ortiz
"You suspect that this issue, this binding agreement based on the change in position and from the intervention of the Prime Minister that that binding agreement will be just a formality at the next meeting. Do you truly believe that?"

Alfredo Ortega
"We hope that that will happen because if that doesn't happen, we have a mandate from the farmers and we have to respect the mandate of the farmers. The mandate of the farmers is what we will be signing to the Prime Minister, so that he will have this dialogue with BSI people, so that we can meet."

And so, while they try to work out the dispute about the bagasse, there are two immediate issues with the letter addressed to Prime Minister Barrow. The farmers don't agree with the point number 2.

Their interpretation is that BSI is trying to block any discussion about future bi-products which could emerge from sugar cane, apart from those already known to be profitable.

Alfredo Ortega
"In regards to point #2 where t says "payment would finally resolve payment for bi-product under the memorandum of agreement." We quite well understand where they want to go in that area that this should be the final and they have it clear in the letter that once they pay us for the bagasse that should be the final for asking for any payment for any other bi-product."

"The interpretation is that BSI wants that once and for all once we agree on a price for the bagasse that that should be the final request for the farmers for any other bi-product that can generate economic value. This is the areas as how they have mentioned in two different press releases that they took out that the cane brings a bundle of things. They mentioned in their press release that the cane comes with water, sugar, molasses, mud, fiber and they said etcetera. That means that the cane comes with different thing and those are the things that we are looking forward that in the event there is another product apart from the three that we are negotiating with them that can generate economic value that farmers should participate also. Those are the areas that they are saying no, they don't want to talk anymore about that."

The next issue is point number 3, to "clarify ownership of cane and all its components upon delivery to the mill" They say that there is no need to clarify ownership; the farmers own the cane, even after it is delivered.?

Alfredo Ortega
"They want to negotiate with us to see the ownership in regards to the sugarcane once it's received by the mill and that's another area that the farmers say no because they are not buying cane from us. As you have heard even in the press conference that BSI had and in different press release that they took out, they say that they buy the cane from the farmers, so they are the owners of whatsoever comes form that cane. We as farmers are saying no, they are not buying cane from us because we share the risks, the losses. The farmers are saying that they are not buying our cane that they are just supplying you with the cane and they (BSI) are paying us. Now, if you want to continue with that same system then we as farmers should put price on our cane instead of BSI pricing our cane."

Daniel Ortiz
"That's a huge point of contention. How do you think they will received that difference of opinion there?"

Alfredo Ortega
"I cannot say on their part. I am speaking as vice chairman of the association on behalf of the farmers. What will be BSI's reaction, I don't know. We will see it whenever we meet on the roundtable."

The cane farmers have a proposed date for parties to meet on Thursday. One of the resolutions at yesterday's meeting is that the farmers are expecting a favourable negotiation, and if that doesn't happen, then the cane deliveries won't start.

Later, we'll have more from the sugar belt as we take you into a cane field to show you how water logged it is.

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