“Sugar roads and cane quality remain major concerns at start of 2020 crop,” says Minister of Agriculture

By BBN Staff: The 2020/2021 sugarcane crop is scheduled to commence on Monday, December 14; however, Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise says that the quality of the sugar roads and the cane itself are a major concern approaching the start of the season.

Speaking on the quality of the roads this week, Mai explained that the recent floods have made them all impassable. He noted that surveyors were deployed to conduct assessments on the roads, but that actual repairs cannot start until the rains ease up. Mai also noted that if farmers decide to press on with harvesting while the roads are in this condition it will increase the cost of harvesting and further damage the roads.

On the issue of cane quality, Mai explained that the sugar cane plants have soaked up much of the floodwaters, reducing the quality of the cane. the cane quality can improve if the plants are allowed more time to dry out.

A recent news item by Channel 5 notes that the cane farmers are asking for the crop to be delayed, to allow for the roads to be fixed and the cane quality to improve.

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