CANE producers associations are not the elected representatives of sugarcane farmers, says the Fiji Cane Growers Association.
President Attar Singh said it was overwhelmingly clear from the submissions made by West farmers to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs that growers felt they were being marginalised in an industry they had the biggest stake in.
He made the comments while speaking on the Reform of the Sugar Cane Industry Bill in Ba on Friday.
“We have no gripe against the cane producers associations,” he said. “But they were formed for the purpose of distributing Fairtrade benefits, they were not formed to represent farmers’ interests.
“We want 38 directly elected counsellors.
“Farmers need to know who represents them. It’s not about knowing who the reps are but they want to be able to elect them for that purpose,” he said.
Mr Singh said having six representatives from three cane producers associations on the Sugar Cane Growers Council was not representative of farmers’ interests.
Rarawai Penang Cane Producers Association president Girish Kumar supported the comments made by Mr Singh.
“The cane producers associations are the helping hand of the growers and the Sugar Cane Growers Council is the voice of the growers,” he said.
