By Dalton Laing, Freelance Writer THE SUGAR industry in Jamaica is on the brink of collapsing if the problems plaguing it are not addressed positively, according to discussions coming out of a symposium by the Frome Estate held at Manning's School on Wednesday.
The panel discussion was held in keeping with the Anti-Illicit Cane Fire Week that started on Sunday with a church service and continued on Monday with its schools outreach programme.
In his presentation, Amba-ssador Derrick Heaven, CEO of the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ), noted that the market for sugar is still readily available but in order to survive the country has to produce sugar at a lower cost.
"Funds will have to be found from somewhere," added Abijah Buchanan, chairman of the Jamaica Cane Farmers Association, "if the industry is going to survive." He also noted that Frome is 40,000 tonnes of sugar behind in comparison to the same period last year. This without doubt, is due to the 800 illegal fires experienced so far, which resulted in the loss of over 250,000 tonnes of canes.
"I am not a messenger of doom," he continued, "but it is necessary for someone to go to prison in order for the burning of cane fields illegally to stop."
One farmer from the floor announced that he caught a culprit last year lighting his cane field and had him jailed. The farmer reported that the culprit was released on a suspended sentence and he is now suffering since the loss of his crop. The man lit and burned almost 1000 tonnes of cane on three different occasions this season.
