SUGARCANE farmers across the Western Division know how important the Fiji Sugar Corporation is to their existence.

They know that without the miller they have nowhere to take their cane for processing, and they also know that FSC provides support services that are essential to the whole sugarcane planting business.

During a survey of cane belt areas in the Western Division over the past two weeks, growers expressed appreciation for what the FSC has done in the past in increasing efficiency.

But they were also harshly critical of how the miller has conducted its affairs in recent years.

Growers said when the Sugar Commission of Fiji and Fiji Sugar Marketing Company Ltd existed, farmers were kept informed of how much Fiji raw sugar was being sold for and they were kept involved in all industry matters.

Many said that since the FSC took over the marketing of sugar in 2009, growers have been kept in the dark and lack of information had bred suspicion throughout the industry.

They also said comments made by former executive chairman Abdul Khan about diversification into cogeneration plants and ethanol production was confusing given that the FSC was technically insolvent at the time.

The FSC should focus on its primary role of making sugar, growers said, instead of delving into issues that did nothing more than take up time and resources it did not have.

Referring to the Sugar Reform Bills 19 and 20, farmers said they had no confidence in the miller’s ability to take care of itself because of the huge financial mess it was in.

And they also cannot comprehend how a company that is in so much debt wants to take over other facets of the industry as proposed in the Reform of the Sugar Cane Industry Bill.

The closure of the Penang sugar mill has also drawn the battle lines for a number of farmers in Rakiraki whose forefathers had grown up in the shadow of the factory.

Although the mill was 137 years old, they said Penang had shown its resilience by surviving hundreds of major weather events and political upheavals.

Many said their forefathers had built their lives, provided livelihoods and wealth to Rakiraki — and the country — and any issues with the mill should have been discussed with growers first before the decision to close it was made.

They just want to feel relevant. They want to feel like they matter. They want to voice out their feelings. And they want somebody to listen.

Like other canegrowing areas, farmers viewed the mill as an extension of their farm.

Farmers also expressed very strong views about FSC getting its act together first before coming out to farmers to dictate how cane should be planted.

Many said with crushing about to begin for the 2017 season, there were no clear indications from FSC about how it proposed to handle cane logistics at the Rarawai sugar mill given the extra load from Penang.

They made comments about how the poor organisation of trucks at Rarawai last year led to long queues and disagreements between manually cut cane lorries and mechanically harvested trucks.

Apart from raising concerns about the operational issues at mills, growers were also very vocal about what they viewed as Government’s preferential support for the FSC.

Many said the $10 million fourth cane payment debt payout for farmers, when viewed against Government’s $202 million loan guarantee to the FSC, was the continuation of a trend where farmers’ issues and concerns were placed second and in favour of the miller.

Farmers are asking questions of FSC’s ability to pay back the $963.5 million it now owes in loans and liabilities.

Growers believe that if Government had invested in farmers as much as they did in the FSC, cane production would have exceeded three million tonnes, farmers would have been encouraged to develop their farms, and many of the other issues they faced would have been addressed.

Growers say Government will not be able to address the ageing farmer issue and attract youths into cane cultivation if youngsters cannot foresee it has a viable career choice.

All eyes now are on newly appointed FSC chief executive officer Graham Clark and chief operating officer Navin Chandra, on how they will steer the miller in 2017 and beyond.

Farmers are looking forward to milling efficiency improvements, the better handling of transportation and a reduction in costs.

They are also pinning their hopes on a better future for the industry — one where they will climb out of a cycle of debt, and earn a decent living.