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By Emmanuel Joseph
There is uncertainty about when this year’s sugar harvest will begin, with some unidentified issues related to field workers still unresolved.
“Discussions are still ongoing on a number of [outstanding] issues on behalf of the workers,” Deputy General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Dwaine Paul confirmed to Barbados TODAY.
However, he said he was not in a position
By Sheria Brathwaite
Private sugar cane farmers are ready and waiting on Government to ring the bell to signal the start of the sugar harvest with many expecting increased yields for 2023.
On Tuesday, a Barbados TODAY roving team visited three of the 12 private farms to get a sense of the level of preparedness. Management at all three establishments reported that
The 2023 sugar cane harvest season may not start by mid-February as anticipated by the Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir and other officials.The start date will depend on the environmental conditions and maturity of the crop according to agronomist and acting head of the Agronomy Research Department (ARD) Nyah Nyhathu.He told Barbados TODAY in an exclusive interview that a series of tests would first have to be carried out by the ARD but this critical research had been delayed by recent rains.He said an island-wide brix survey would confirm the readiness of the canes, which will determine the start of the 2023 harvest.
The Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) is partnering with Exclusive Cottons of the Caribbean Inc. on a project that could improve how the fibre is harvested and potentially boost production.Chief executive officer of Exclusive Cottons Adlai Stevenson told Barbados TODAY the two entities were looking to import approximately 40 handheld harvesters that he said could significantly address two of the major challenges facing the industry – a lack of labour and insufficient lands to grow the cotton.These challenges have led to a fall-off in the local cotton industry over the past several years, despite international demand for the product and the profitability of West Indian Sea Cotton, which is one of the highest priced in the world at more than US$10 per pound.“Hopefully, the harvesters will encourage more people to come out. We anticipate that the harvesters will prove themselves and, hopefully, the farmers are more enthusiastic about picking cotton,” Stevenson said.