Ahead of the inquiry, the B.S.C.F.A had hired Senior Counsel Magali Marin-Young to make presentations on its behalf. Today, Marin-Young expressed, on behalf of the association, the importance for the Commission to investigate the legal framework, as well as the Sugar Industry Regulations to see how it could strengthen them, the weaknesses and what she termed as the unequal bargaining power and lack of transparency and information.
Magali Marin-Young, S.C, Attorney for B.S.C.F.A
“You have one miller in the northern districts for Belize sugar cane farmers to sell their produce to. It is in effect, a monopoly. There is no other miller that the canefarmer can sell his sugarcane in any cost-effective manner. Santander is all the way near Cotton Tree in the Cayo District. For it to transport its sugarcane would make it highly inefficient, so the canefarmer has nobody else to sell but to the one miller in the northern districts. So, speaking on behalf of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, and as signaled by the CEO, I think it is time for us to seriously look at the legislative framework. It is not working. It leads to a contentious situation.”
Chairman of the association’s Finance Committee, Javier Keme told the commission that there is concern over a disadvantage in the current model of the Net Strip Value, which Belize Sugar Industries/American Sugar Refinery uses in the method of payment to cane farmers. Keme explained that they are paid by percentage, but they believe that the figures can be manipulated.
Javier Keme
Javier Keme, Chairman, B.S.C.F.A. Finance Committee
“Depending on the first estimated price, which is the first issue that the farmer is at a disadvantage because BSI at arriving at a first estimated price, in our view figures are being manipulated because the NSV model offers that on the side of the marketing prices to be conservative, to be on the lower end, and on the costs to be on the upper end. That cost would be more. This automatically results in a low first estimated price and the first estimated price is what give ground to apply a formula that if its over forty-two dollars, it’s going to be eighty-five percent. If it’s more, the percentage reduces to eighty percent of that estimated price. This creates a big challenge to the producers and it worsened over the years with the cost of grain inputs increasing. Why? Because as the first estimated price is calculated, it only covers the cost of harvesting. Remember that the producer had already embarked on a loan or financing to do the maintenance cost or investments in the production for that respective crop.”
Chairman of the Orange Walk branch of the B.S.C.F.A., Alfredo Ortega said that the farmers are not in agreement with the idea that increasing sugar prices will solve the problem of the sugar shortage on the shelves. He told the commission that what should be considered is simply producing more sugar to supply both the local and the foreign markets.
Alfredo Ortega, Chairman, B.S.C.F.A, Orange Walk Branch
“Everything that uses sugar will go up and we don’t think that by increasing the price will solve the problem and it’s also not good for us being a sugar-producing country having two mills not to have sugar on the shelves as our community needs. SO we as the B.S.C.F .A are concerned of that issue. We think there are methods that can be put in place to reduce the smuggle out of here or as they have said to us many times, that the local sugar is the best price that they have, whenever there are reduced prices around the world. So what they should do then if they want to have this outgoing of sugar is produce more local sugar.”
As we go about our day-to-day activities, not much thought is given on the impact of deforestation on scarcity and high costs of fresh produce at the supermarket. But certainly, we all feel the pinch when we visit the grocery store to purchase farm fresh products these days. Well, the experts lay the blame, in part, on climate change. When lush, virgin, forest is cleared for agricultural purposes the carbon they store is released as carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change. We have all seen the effects of climate change, from long periods of drought to unprecedented rainfalls. Now clearly, a small country like Belize is not making any significant contributions to global emissions, but experts would agree that deforestation is not doing any good. So, what value does the forest contribute to the agricultural sector? News Five’s Paul Lopez tell us more in tonight’s installment of Belize on Reel.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Data from the University of Maryland’s Global Land Analysis and Discovery show that Belize lost one thousand, one hundred and seventy square miles of forest cover between 2001 and 2023. That is six hundred and forty thousand acres of virgin forest.
Clifford Martinez
Clifford Martinez, Climate Change Coordinator, Ministry of Agriculture
“Studies have shown, and indications have shown that the damaging sector has been with activities related to land clearing for agricultural production. So it is land use change for agricultural produce.”
Clifford Martinez is the Climate Change Coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture. Research shows that when trees are cut down, the carbon they store is released into the atmosphere. These large land clearings are often undertaken for agricultural purposes. The agro-productive sector contributes just under twenty percent of the nation’s GDP.
Clifford Martinez
“And also where the sector itself represents a large portion of foreign investment earnings. As well as the population of individuals involved in the sector who benefit directly or indirectly and more importantly the percentage of the working force, the labor force, in and around thirty percent of the labor force are from the agriculture sector.”
Ironically, the effects of climate change, including unpredictable weather patterns and increasingly severe weather events, threaten the economic livelihood of persons working in the agricultural sector. Ever Blandon is a vegetable farmer and the secretary of the Valley of Peace Lagoon Farmers’ Cooperative, a group of rural small farmers.
Ever Blandon
Ever Blandon, Secretary, Valley of Peace Lagoon Farmers’ Cooperative
“With climate change it is very difficult to know when it will come, when you will have it. For example, two days ago in the night we had as much water that we get in a whole month, so that will put you in some kind issue with the vegetable. Cabbage, it cannot be more than two hours under water, and it gets spoiled.”
That then leads to a trickledown effect at the market and in grocery stores.
Ever Blandon
“That eventually will be a lose to the farmer and the market. Last year there was flooding and the cabbage was ready to harvest and some farmers cut it under water. And when they took it to the market it was spoiled. So, it is something that is a lose on all points. For the farmer and the consumer. Eventually you will have a high price on the market.”
Clifford Martinez
“We are in the north so the more common one is the drought that has affected us for the past three years, the sugar industry. We are still recovering from citrus greening in the south.”
Connecting the dots from deforestation to the high cost of fresh produce at the supermarket may not be as challenging when the effects of climate change are considered. So, what can be done to reduce these negative impacts from a policy standpoint? We asked the Minister of Sustainable Development, Orlando Habet.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
“I think one is land degradation. It is absolutely important for the agriculture ministry and the department and us in the sustainable ministry to do agriculture in a sustainable way. Gone are the days when we just got bulldozers to clear down land to do agriculture. Also, looking at the land use policy which is now under way. Now looking at that land use policy, which land is appropriate for agriculture, which land is appropriate for land development in terms of urbanization. We see right now areas where especially in the south, going down the Hummingbird, when I was younger I use to go down very slow, because you want to see the beautiful scenery and two because their road was curvy, so you have to be careful. But we saw agriculture happening in the valley, but now we see agriculture happening on the mountain side.”
The future of Belize’s agricultural sector is at stake. But, sixteen-year-old rural farmer Jahzir Sanchez remains optimistic. This week, he participated in a climate change and agriculture forum organized by the Climate Change Office within the Ministry of Sustainable Development.
Jahzir Sanchez
Jahzir Sanchez, Youth Farmer
“Me as a farmer, my grandfather before he died, he left us land right there. The forest we leave it like that. We don’t touch the forest. The forest is for sticks. We use it when we need to build corrals for the cows. We leave that, if necessary, we cut down. If not, it is necessary we don’t cut down. We have enough land to plant. We have the backyard. We have the field in front of the house. All these lands can be used, not only for football.”
The Commission of Inquiry into the sugar industry began today in Orange Walk. The six-member commission is tasked with a wide range of responsibilities outlined within its terms of reference. The objectives include measuring the efficiency of milling factories in Belize, while identifying the inefficiencies that exist. The commission is also working to assess the cost and efficiency of sugarcane cultivation, harvesting and transportation. And these are only a few of the objectives that the commission must meet. The end goal is for the commission to provide recommendations on the best approach to modernizing the industry. Today, the Belize Sugar Industries Limited was in the hot seat, taking questions from the members of the commission for the better part of the day. B.S.I. directly employs just under seven hundred individuals. According to Shawn Chavarria, the Director of Finance at the factory, they indirectly employ some ten thousand workers.
Shawn Chavarria
Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, ASR/BSI
“A lot of the information we have shared and also part of the initial presentations that we made when the commissioners visited in June was to highlight what BSI sees as some of the key challenges that are facing the industry. I know that from a public standpoint this is a lot of interest and scrutiny into the industry. But I think a lot of it masks what are some of the underlying issues. I think what we have tried to convey to this commission of inquiry is that for a lot of years those core issues have not been properly addressed. The reason we think it hasn’t been properly addressed is because the industry has been heavily politicized. A lot of decisions made are not based on technical facts or economics. It is really driven by political expediency and that makes sense to an extent because of the number of farmers the industry in the north supports and by extension their families. It is something that BSI for many years has had to manage. We think that because of that the industry is not where it should be. Some of the things we have highlighted that is really fundamental if this industry is to move forward and become a long standing industry, we need to address the low production. The industry in the north is really one of the lowest cane yields in the world.”
Members of the commission visited Belize earlier this year to conduct preliminary assessments of the sugar industry with various stakeholders. Today, one of the first questions the commission posed to B.S.I. representatives had to do with the low level of sugarcane productivity in Belize. The commission noted that, based on preliminary findings, the sugar industry in northern Belize has been struggling to increase yield for decades. Shawn Chavarria pointed to a lack of political support. OIivia Avilez, the Cane Farmers Relations Manager at B.S.I., referenced a need for new varieties of sugarcane, as well as overused farmlands.
Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, ASR/BSI
“Belize has had consultants, has had studies done to make recommendations, to see what needs to improve to ensure the industry has a long-term viable future. So, it is not for a lack of knowing what the issues are. We know what are the issues. I think the issue is that there hasn’t been the political support to ensure that these reforms, these changes are implemented. I think that has been one of the biggest obstacles to transforming the industry to where it needs to go.”
“What is the root cause of this issue? From what we have seen, one of the key areas is that we have very little replanting. The replanting is required in an industry, for example fifteen percent of your area should be replanted annually and you should not stop that because sugarcane, yes, it is a grass, very resilient grass that we can extract sugar from, but it needs to be replanted every seven years depending on the variety. Key to this is the cane varieties and BSI research project has been researching the different varieties that can be adopted here in Belize with the assistance from the Barbados Breeding Station. The cane varieties are important to be diversified. We rely on one specific variety, B-seventy-nine covers about seventy-five percent of our areas, and nothing is wrong with that variety but we cannot rely on one variety, like in the past, the cania blancita, B fifty-two was wiped out with one disease, smut.”
So, if there is a need for greater production in the sugar industry, why are farmers not investing in their farms to generate more annually? Avilez contends that sugarcane farmers are unwilling to make the investment because a profitable return is not guaranteed on that production. Avilez also called out the Sugar Cane Production Committee for reported inefficiencies.
“The farmers will not want to invest in their own way if they are not given the appropriate production. So, if they are improving productivity, they want a return. Nobody, no farmer wants to invest without gaining a return or an appropriate profit out of that. Currently, the way the industry works for production estimate is really hindering, stifling, even robbing from farmers who are producing higher than the average that SCPC is willing to give. So, one of the key deterrents or the key demotivator here from the farmer’s side is, if I improve my productivity will you be able to give me what I deserve. At the same time, it compensates farmers who are underproducing from the average. By that I mean, farmers who are producing ten tons per acre, I don’t mean small farmers, I mean certain farmers who are not investing in their fields, in their productivity they are given the average of seventeen tons so that they have seven tons to play with. While the farmer who produces twenty-five tons is also given the average of seventeen tons. And that is what demotivates farmers, when they are not given the productivity, their fields are earning.”
Global standards suggest that the time between harvesting and milling sugarcane should not exceed twenty-four hours. This is known as the “kill to mill” time. In Belize, the kill to mill time far exceeds twenty-four hours. There are reports of farmers delivering sugarcane to the mill fifteen days after burning. One commissioner referred to this as unacceptable. He asked B.S.I. what the barriers are to reducing this time. Here is how she responded.
Olivia Avilez, Cane Farmers Relations Manager
“There are several barriers, and I will give you an anecdote there. Some of our field workers this year saw canes burn for fifteen days, fifteen days and one of the key issues here is the screen testing or individual cane truck testing does not exist in our industry. As you would know from world international standards, if you cannot individually test a truck, you cannot determine payment for that specific truck or field and so the farmer is not compensated based on cane quality. No human being will do or invest and implement better practices if there is not an incentive. In our case an incentive is the cane payment. We have come from 2010 a TCTS of over twelve tons of cane to one ton of sugar to around ten. We were to eight point seven, nine TCTS which has been good. The farmers have shown generally when they work together the quality of cane can improve and the kill to mill can reduce.”
One hundred solar energy kits have been donated to pig farmers across Belize. The donation is part of an effort to promote renewable energy solutions and reduce the reliance on traditional, less sustainable energy sources. The donation of the pico solar kits comes from the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics and E-governance as part of the Lait [Light] Up Belize Technical Assistance Project with funding from the European Union. These compact solar systems can assist farmers in rural areas by reducing energy costs and providing lights in areas for increased security. The ministry collaborated with the Pig Council Association and the Belize Livestock Producers Association to ensure the effective distribution of the kits and provide technical support.
The first set of hearings for the Commission of Inquiry into the Sugar Cane Industry commences on August twenty-seventh and will run through to the thirty-first. The stakeholders that have been called for the public hearings in the north include Belize Sugar Industries Limited, Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Corozal Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association, as well as the Northern Sugar Cane Farmers Association. News Five spoke by phone with Hugh O’Brien, chair of the Commission of Inquiry.
On the phone: Hugh O’Brien
On the phone: Hugh O’Brien, Lead Coordinator, Commission of Inquiry
“The Commission of Inquiry has reached the stage where it’s having hearingsand the public hearings commence tomorrow, Tuesday, August twenty-seventh, and will run from Tuesday to Saturday this week, Escuela Secundaria Mexico Conference Room. The following week, the public hearings will move to the Ministry of Agriculture Conference Room at the [National] Agriculture and Trade Show Grounds in Belmopan. Hearings are going to be streamed live on the Government of Belize’s press office page and the press: the TV, radio, newspapers, and online agencies are allowed to attend. All the hearings are recorded and be there to see how the discussions go. These hearings are following the first visit that these commissioners made to Belize and, by the way, these commissioners come from different parts of the world. There’s one from South Africa, there’s one from the United Kingdom, from Mauritius, three of them, and there is a local commissioner as well. These commissioners came to Belize earlier this year and they met with the stakeholders. They met with them and received presentations from these stakeholders, they visited field operations of farmers in the north, from the cane farmers associations, as well as from BSI. They visited the plant at BSI and then in the western part of the country, they visited Santander Farms and their production systems and they also visited the Santander sugar factory here in western Belize. So the commissioners now, following that set of visits that they had. They requested specific information from the stakeholders, asked them specific questions and so stakeholders were allowed to make submissions and even made a public release asking for anybody who wants to make submissions to be able to do that by providing their email address and so forth. So that information, quite a bit of information has come in to the commissioners, they are reviewing that information. These hearings now are staged in a way that the commissioners will take the knowledge and understanding of Belize’s industry, take that knowledge that they have and they will interact, and ask and clarify key clarifications from the different parties that are going to come to the hearings and answer those questions.”
