7 News Belize

Farmers Signing With ASR/BSI
posted (January 14, 2015)

BSI has started signing contracts with cane associations and growers groups. This evening, the company sent out a public notice saying farmers representing production of more than 400,000 tons of cane have made petitions to the Sugar Industry Control Board to enter into independent agreements with BSI. And, today announcement says, quote, "the process for signing agreements between BSI and these groups of farmers has now commenced." End quote. So the process which started in mid November 2014, when BSI appealed directly to farmers, is now coming to fruition two torturous months later: many, not all, farmers are signing directly with BSI.

But, there's not much to celebrate in sugar-land. After five decades, the BSCFA is substantially splintered, the crop is starting five, maybe 6 weeks later than it should have, and the Fair Trade funds have been plundered to keep the farmers going during months of uncertainty and no income.

Indeed, from the outside, it seems to be a fractured industry but one that's held together by a single supply and demand imperative: the farmers need to sell their cane, and the BSI mill needs that to make sugar.

Much of the blame for the ruinous state of affairs has fallen on government – which is accused of not standing up enough for the farmers. Tired of hearing that narrative – which the Barrow Administration believes is manifestly untrue – today government trotted out the Attorney General and the Minister of Labour – to put out their side of the story. Minister Elrington said "nonsense" to the narrative.

Jules Vasquez

"It's been put very squarely at the door of the government; that government is to blame. The government failed to side with the farmers, that the government sided deliberately with ASR-BSI and thus the farmers having no choice are entering the season sundered and defeated by the multi-national in concert with the government. How do you respond to that criticism?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Attorney General

"That is the misinformation that is being put abroad, it's utter nonsense. Any politician knows that he would be committing suicide if he goes against the people. Our mandate really is to represent the people and to do what is their interest. They're the people that are going to vote for us, not any foreign multi-national cooperation."

Jules Vasquez

"Leader of the opposition has said that the government, while he accepts that the government could not have forced the opening of the mill; He has said that the government should have acted, should have appeared at the negotiating table with the BSCFA against ASR-BSI and told them; Listen we two stand here, you stand on the other side. You must do what we two shareholders say. How do you respond to that?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington

"That is not the kind of thing a responsible leader would do. They can leave this jurisdiction anytime and go, and who's going to be the worst of it? The Belizean people, the entire Belizean people. The sugar industry is one of the most important industry for the country of Belize. Provided us with a tremendous amount of foreign exchange, revenue, employment. People in Pickstock division are involved in that industry. The last thing our government would want to see is for the industry to leave the country."

Jules Vasquez

"I think the cane farmers association made a mistake when they voted to go along with this mandamus strategy, when very deliberately at that session their attorney Chris Coye told them, this deal is the best deal you're going to get right now."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington

"Chris Coye is perhaps one of the best commercial lawyer the country has and his advice to my mind is the exact advise I would have given to my client. You can't discount the value of the deal that they had. I certainly thought it was a mistake to go to the court. Going to the court doesn't cost the attorney anything, matter of fact that's how the attorney earns his or her living but it cost the poor cane farmer. The position of the cane farmers historically has never been strong. You have a perishable crop, the crop cannot for more than a few weeks, other wise it starts to rot. So you don't have much cope to negotiate, you don't have a very strong negotiating position. People have mortgages to pay. People have loans, so you have to take all this into consideration if I don't agree with the proposal that you are putting, what next?"

Reporter

"The last crop season, they continue negotiating with an interim agreement and now we hear BSI saying that they will refuse an interim agreement. They basically want to pressure the farmers to sign a new agreement under their terms."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington

"Because an interim agreement is beneficial to no one. These have invested millions of dollars that begin to shareholders. They can't afford to be held hostage at the beginning of every cane crop."

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