By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE SUGAR Company of Jamaica which oversees the operations of government-run sugar factories, agreeing with demands from cane farmers, has put in place a "transloading centre" at the Hampden sugar factory for cane bound for the Long Pond sugar factory.
Livingston Morrison, president and chief executive officer of the SCJ and the Trelawny Sugar Co., said his company was putting the plans in place to allow Hampden to be used as a transloading centre, to help cane farmers who are far from the Long Pond sugar factory. Both factories are in Trelawny.
He said that when Hampden cane farmers start reaping in earnest later this month, they will have the option of weighing their canes at Hampden before they are delivered to Long Pond.
"Hampden will definitely be used as a transloading centre, so that farmers who are finding it difficult to transport the canes directly to Long Pond can take them to Hampden, and we will take the canes from there," Mr. Morrison explained.
He said that to facilitate the transloading centre, the SCJ had put a core sampler in place at Hampden, to test the quality of the cane.
"We have almost completed work on a crane and a scale which will be part of the features at that facility," he said.
George Fray, president of the Hampden Cane Farmers' Association, who has over the past few months made a strong pitch for Hampden to be used as a transloading centre, welcomed the decision.
"We really need to have a scale in place as part of the transloading facility, because we stand to lose if the canes are not weighed before the long journey to Long Pond," Mr. Fray told The Gleaner yesterday. "We should not be responsible for any wastage of cane which goes on, from the cane leaves our hands to the factory," he said.
"If anything unscrupulous or unpredictable happens on the way to the factory, we stand to lose, so it's better if it is weighed and signed off at Hampden first."
Citing another reason for Hampden to be used as a transloading site, Mr. Fray said the additional $80 per tonne being given to Hampden farmers to defray transportation costs was insufficient. Against this background, he said it would be better for farmers to take the cane to Hampden and let the Long Pond management take up the slack in transporting it from Hampden.
The Trelawny Sugar Co. and the HCFA are to meet today to discuss several issues relating to the harvesting of canes by those farmers.
"Only some of our large farmers have started reaping, but by the last week of this month, most Hampden farmers will start harvesting. So, we are hoping that at Tuesday's meeting, we will get a clear picture of the sugarcane quota required from Hampden farmers," Mr. Fray said. "We also want to know what section of the quota will go to Hampden small farmers and how much to the large farmers."
According to the HCFA, Hampden farmers will be required to meet a daily quota of 450 tonnes of cane. However some farmers contend that the quota was "too small" and are pushing for a much larger quota.
Mr. Morrison is giving the assurance that his company will meet with Hampden farmers within the next two weeks to get a clearer picture of their concerns and seek consensus on several matters.
The government closed down the Hampden factory on December 19, triggering discontent among farmers in Trelawny. The farmers have been lobbying government to lease the factory to its parent organisation, the All-Island Jamaica Cane Farmers' Association. Under the new arrangement, Hampden farmers will have to process their canes at the Long Pond sugar factory.
