Once again, it’s not smooth sailing in the sugarcane industry in the north. Three of the four sugarcane farmers associations—Progressive Sugar Cane Growers Association, Northern Sugar Cane Growers Association, and Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association — are onboard with the miller, ASR/BSI (American Sugar Refining, Inc./Belize Sugar Industries Ltd.), which is just about ready to start receiving cane; but the largest cane farmers association, BSCFA (Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association), once again is not yet disposed to sign on for the zafra to begin. The reason for the impasse is that ASR/BSI wants the BSCFA to sign a four-year contract, which it argues is important for investor confidence, but the BSCFA, despite GoB’s nudging, thus far is not willing to go beyond a one-year contract, as it did last December after the milling season had been delayed well beyond a week.
The BSCFA, which represents many small farmers, stands apart from the other farmers associations because its members insist that their accountants be allowed to examine the financial statements of the miller, in order to ensure a fair calculation of the payment for their sugarcane. There is also BSCFA’s demand that farmers get a bigger share of revenue for the bagasse (sugarcane trash) that is used to fuel the electricity-generating company, Belcogen (Belize Cogeneration Energy Ltd.).
Another difference between the two entities is over Fairtrade premiums. According to its website, Fairtrade International pays better prices to farmers “who prioritize fair wages, safe working conditions, and sustainable supply chains.” BSCFA’s website says that since 2008 the premiums have amounted to approximately $3.5 million per year. The Fairtrade-certified BSCFA says the other associations have reportedly received their cut of the premiums, but they are yet to receive theirs, and they put the blame for that squarely on ASR/BSI.
For more than five decades, the sugar industry has been a mainstay of our economy. A little over a decade ago, when the industry was on its knees, for various reasons including low prices on the world market, the BSCFA, with the support of the PUP, which was then in opposition, moved to get control of BSI. But the government at the time (UDP) chose for BSI to sell shares, about 80%, to ASR, for the security the foreign company provides. The BSCFA is negotiating with an international giant. ASR’s website says the group “is the world’s largest refiner and marketer of cane sugar, with an annual production capacity of 6 million metric tons of sugar.” In 2020, ASR/BSI produced 156,646 metric tons of sugar, less than 3% of ASR’s total output.
There was a change of government in 2020; the PUP is now in charge, but the problems between the BSCFA and the miller haven’t gone anywhere. It remains as constant as night following day and the yearly hurricane season that in December there’s a standoff between the BSCFA and the miller before the crop can get underway. Prime Minister Briceño and his government have tried various initiatives to broker a deal between the two big players in the industry. None have been successful.
The most recent initiative of the government is a “Commission of Inquiry” that is tasked to look into the claims of the BSCFA that ASR/BSI is dealing with farmers unfairly and, make recommendations to improve the sustainability of the industry. PM Briceño is asking the BSCFA to sign a three-year contract with the miller. He says this will give the Commission of Inquiry time to carry out its review of the industry.
The PM has stated that BSCFA versus ASR/BSI is a matter between private entities, so his government cannot intervene directly on either party’s behalf. It’s a fair argument that the BSCFA won’t find a government more favorable to its cause. If the BSCFA signs a three-year contract with the miller, the PUP is out of the pressure cooker with this problem for the rest of their mandate. PM Briceño’s administration would certainly welcome the relief. At this time our economy is stressed by some persistent problems at home, and some massive upheavals abroad. Three of our major industries – citrus, farmed shrimp, and petroleum – are not generating revenues like they used to. Climate change issues are increasing, and major wars across the globe, on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, have caused an astronomic increase in the prices of goods across the world.
The BSCFA could extract something positive with more time too. The three other cane farmers associations in the north appear to be unconcerned about the issues that the BSCFA is clamoring about, and generally Belizeans just want the crop to get on, the industry being so important to the livelihoods of our people everywhere. Maybe the media bears some blame for BSCFA concerns not resonating as much as they should. The BSCFA probably could use the time a three-year contract would give to lobby support for their causes.
The BSCFA would strengthen their position greatly if they were able to convince more Belizeans of the legitimacy of having their business partner, ASR/BSI, open the financial records; their right to a better price for bagasse; and their demand that ASR/BSI resolve the matter of their not getting their rightful share of the Fairtrade premiums.
PM being asked for time
The chairman of the People’s Constitution Commission (PCC), Mr. Anthony Chanona, has indicated that the Commission might need to ask PM Briceño for more time to get the job done. At the PCC’s inception, in November 2022, the government gave the Commission a mandate of 18 months to complete its work, and said that at the conclusion of the process the new or amended Constitution would be submitted to the people in a referendum. It would be a feather in the cap of the government, particularly the PM, if a new/amended Constitution is in place before the next general election.
The Commission has been slow getting input from the people. That is largely because the exercise is not the product of a groundswell, but a call from the social partner senators who might be said to have been speaking for the intellectual elite. Hon. Henry Usher, the Minister of Public Service, Constitutional & Political Reform, had introduced a number of proposals for constitutional amendments, one of which could have led to the disqualification of the present Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Shyne Barrow. The social partners seized on opposition to the polarizing amendment to call for a full review of the Constitution.
The Commission is working hard, but maybe the times we are living in don’t allow for sufficient focus on this important exercise. We are indeed living in very pressing times. The main barometer for public opinion in Belize is the call-in shows. At this time, they are not dominated by talk of campaign reform, and our system of government. Far and away, the priority concerns are about survival, about the high cost of living and lost salaries of public employees. Additionally, important leaders of the constitutional reform agenda are absorbed with the redistricting of electoral divisions.
The Commission is doing great work, but apparently the “horse” isn’t in a hurry to drink, hence the need to extend the mandate. The PUP just might go into the next general election without the feather of a new or amended Constitution in their cap.