Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh yesterday urged Opposition members to spend more time with farmers in the cane fields instead of criticising government efforts from afar.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Singh said the Opposition appeared more focused on social media debates than on understanding the real challenges faced by growers.
“While many honourable members on the other side, including Mr (Viam) Pillay, appear more concerned about what the Government is doing, I urge them to direct the same level of concern towards what’s happening on the ground,” he said.
“Rather than spending time on social media and talking about the issues, they should go out to the farms, sit with the growers, share a cup of tea or coffee and bread with them — not in Lautoka City — but in the cane fields.”
Mr Singh said meeting farmers where they worked would give Opposition members a true picture of the realities of the sugar.
$1.1m spent to move cane
Government has spent more than $1.1 million to transport sugarcane from the Rarawai Mill area to the Lautoka Mill, says Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Mr Singh said the transfer was necessary to ensure the timely crushing of cane and to prevent losses for farmers in the Western Division.
“As of October 30, the estimated balance of cane remaining to be harvested in the Rarawai Mill area, which also includes the Penang Mill area, stands at approximately 194,440 tonnes out of a total seasonal estimate of 607,000 tonnes,” he said.
“This means about 32 per cent of the total crop remains unharvested, while 68 per cent, equivalent to 412,560 tonnes, has already been harvested.”
Mr Singh said the Lautoka Mill was currently crushing around 25,000 tonnes per week, while an average of 2400 tonnes of cane was being transferred daily from Rarawai to Lautoka.
“To date, a total of 74,494 tonnes of cane has been transferred from Rarawai to Lautoka for processing,” he told Parliament.
