It is not unusual for the cane season to end in June, but never in modern history has it closed under such heavy pressure and frustration, as a crisis stalks the nation.

The sugar industry has been dealt heavy blows, traditionally by foreign players who manipulate market prices and apply unfair practices and treatment to smaller economies. This time, it’s a combination of nature’s wrath and the skyrocketing fuel prices which Government seems either unwilling or unable to address.

Similarly, the cost of fertilizers and herbicides used in the fields has gone up significantly.

Farmers take big risks to venture into this industry. They procure loans from high interest rate commercial banks, and they invest heavily in land, capital and labour.

The previous Government acknowledged these challenges and consulted with stakeholders on ways to keep the industry alive. To mitigate the losses accrued from the rising oil prices, the former administration offered a fuel subsidy to all cane farmers. Last year when gas was nearing $7 the subsidy was increased to $2 per gallon. This helped as Government absorbed a portion of the loss, and farmers had some breathing space to invest the extra $2 in other areas of importance.

Today diesel is nearing a whopping $11 per gallon, making the $2 insignificant.

“It is time to review and increase that subsidy,” Chief Executive Officer of the Belize Cane Farmers Association (BCFA), Carlos Magaña told the BELIZE TIMES. That request has been made to the Government, and cane farmers are waiting for a response.

According to Magaña, 50% of cane farmers’ budgets now go towards fuel costs alone. “This is too much and we have to find a way to deal with this situation which has become a national crisis”, he said.

Magaña, who heads the association whose aims are to restructure and improve the industry so it can survive and farmers can get more benefits, said it is time for cane farmers to get help.

If the Association is unable persuade the Government that a subsidy increase is essential, it will have to then find other ways of sourcing cheaper fuel for cane farmers. One such alternative may be the Belize Natural Energy Limited, the oil company extracting “black gold” in the Cayo District.

While the rising cost of fuel has caused the majority of the cane farmers’ woes, natural disasters have also landed heavy blows.

Hurricane Dean, which struck last year and caused over $100m in economic loss, destroyed thousands of acres of sugar cane. Additionally, Dean damaged many sugar roads, making them impassible to traffic.

Magaña said that cane farmers have recuperated about 70% of the damages suffered from Hurricane Dean.

Last week’s heavy showers from Tropical Storm Arthur made matters worse. Roads that had been retrofitted are once again in bad conditions.

Cane fields were partially submerged in water. While the crop can survive the floods, the water reduces the quality and sucrose level of the sugar cane.

As a result of floods and roads in bad conditions, several cane farmers have not been able to access their sugar cane.

“There is still about 130,000 tons of sugar cane to harvest,” revealed Magaña. At least 75% of that will not make it to the factory.

Magaña said that the BCFA and BSI are forecasting an under-the-target production season. “It is likely that we will not meet the target production of 1.1m tons; we may be able to produce about 800,000 tons,” he said.

With all those factors working against the industry and making it difficult for cane farmers, can the industry survive? The TIMES asked Magaña. “It has to!” he remarked, citing that the sugar industry is the bedrock of the economy in northern Belize.

Through the BCFA, farmers have gained strength and are looking at ways to help themselves.

The BCFA is negotiating with Government for an increased fuel subsidy as well as with commercial banks for reasonable credit programs.

Additionally, the BCFA is preparing a strategy to increase production through the urgent rehabilitation of roads, irrigation and drainage systems to alleviate flooding and diversification.

Magaña said the farmers’ challenge is to find an effective way of using the same inputs and size of land to plant more and increase their yields.

Funds from the European Union are being obtained to assist in these projects. For example, the BCFA and the Sugar Industry Control Board have prepared a list of sugar roads in the Corozal and Orange Walk districts, totaling 56 miles, which need urgent attention.

The previous Government had successfully negotiated with the EU to finance the upgrading and paving of the roads under the EU’s Accompanying Measures for Support (AMS) of the sugar belt in the northern districts.

Magaña said that the BCFA holds regular meetings with cane farmers and other stakeholders to discuss the important issues and come up with ways to deal with them. With this year’s early close of the season, Magaña commented, sugar industry stakeholders will have more time on their hands to review the past year, look at the challenges and find ways to prepare and mitigate the losses.