Industrial production is a globally competitive economic activity that relies on a multiplicity of factors to produce a product that is competitive in price and quality. The inputs are raw materials, labour, energy and the cost of capital. The sugarcane industry in Barbados is no exception. With the lack of economies of scale, high cost of energy and labour and other structural inefficiencies there is no escaping the fact that Barbados is one of the highest cost producers of sugarcane and sugar in the world.
By starting with a high cost raw material, sugarcane grown in Barbados, any finished product be it sugar, molasses, bio-fuels or any esoteric byproduct will also be high cost and uncompetitive. We cannot escape the underlying high cost structure of sugarcane cultivation and transportation that cascades through the production cycle to produce expensive finished products. Added to this, is the excessive manpower cost of production in the two remaining sugar factories that places Bajan sugar in the unenviable position of being the most expensive sugar in the world.
Are we now to believe that by some alchemy we can produce cost competitive byproducts from sugar cane by investing $200 million in plant and equipment? To make such a suggestion requires a total suspension of logic and rational thought.
If sugar cane cultivation is to continue in Barbados we have to recognize that price support or subsidy for sugarcane will be necessary on a continuing basis. The level of this subsidy has skyrocketed in recent years and has placed an enormous burden on the government’s finances; a burden that has been exacerbated by the current financial crisis and the contraction of the economy.
The sugar industry, however, cannot be seen in isolation from the rest of the farming community that produces a wide range of food products and livestock. There is also an esthetic value in the continued cultivation of sugarcane that pays dividends for our hospitality industry and also impacts upon our sense of order and belonging to a productive society. There is not one of us that does not view with dismay a tract of land that has been left to run wild with bush, vines and small trees. It sends a message of abandonment, a sense of waste and a loss of hope that is an undeniable cost to the community.
Given the urgent need for us to improve our food security and to strengthen our agricultural productivity we must design a framework that encourages investment and attracts people of technical and managerial ability through the opportunity for financial reward that is equal to other sectors of the economy. In so doing, we should provide meaningful and accountable support for all sectors of the agricultural community that discourages abuse of the system.
I do not advocate writing a blank cheque with a never ending escalation of cost, but a hard headed approach to supporting farming in Barbados with a range of initiatives that take into account a full cost benefit analysis to the society and the development of our economy. In so doing we must deal with specifics and empirical evidence and not speculative dreaming about ephemeral silver bullets and wildly improbable estimates of productivity increases.
It goes without saying that a new multi-sector approach to reducing crop and livestock theft must be put in place. We must ensure that the meat sold in Cheapside has not been stolen from a farmer and vigorously address the scourge of criminal activity aimed at our farming community. Without such an initiative financial support for farming will fail.
It is not a time to dust off old narrowly focused remedies that did not work or encouraged corruption; it is not a time for vague expressions of support and plasters on sores. A fresh approach is needed with specific goals and actions to be taken that provide an interlocking support structure for the whole food production community. Above all there is a need for leadership to drive the process and to generate a buy in from the general public in support of stimulus for the farmers of Barbados.
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