Farmers will only get compensation if their cane was burnt before the crushing season started, the Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh has confirmed.
Mr Singh said the Government had allocated $200,000 to support farms affected by recent fires but stressed the $650 per acre payout only applied to early losses.
“If the cane is burnt after crushing starts, farmers should not expect compensation,” Mr Singh said.
The payout is not full compensation but is meant to help with field clearing and replanting, he said.
“A farmer could earn around $3000 per acre if that cane was harvested.
“This support is to help them restart.”
Mr Singh said approximately 5000 tonnes of cane had been lost over the past four to five weeks, the highest recorded in years.
To combat arson, the ministry will roll out drones and AI surveillance to monitor farms and detect suspicious activity at night.
“This will help catch those who sabotage the sugar industry,” Mr Singh said.
He stressed that burning cane also affected sugar quality and national yield.
“Green cane gives the best recovery and sugar quality. This arson is a recent trend and must stop.”
