SRI Nivasan Mani believes the Lautoka mill will be overwhelmed by the added load of cane being transported from Ba.
The Raviravi farmer whose farm falls under Drasa Sector said with its current load from Lautoka, Nadi and Sigatoka, the mill would be prone to unscheduled breakdowns.
“What will happen when we take on more cane?” he said.
He said the mill needed upgrading and the same should happen with Ba’s Rarawai mill.
“This season will be very crowded in all the mills.
“There will be more waiting time and farmers have to wait a longer time in their cane field.”
He says time would tell the performance of the mills – but it was well known they were prone to unscheduled stops.
“From past experience, our lorry drivers can wait for almost half a day at the mill.
“During that time, we have labourers who are not working but the farmers have to still buy their meals.”
He said another problem that he constantly faced, was the penalty incurred for burnt cane.
“They should have a yard for burnt cane. Instead they make us wait in line and every hour that goes by means we will be penalised especially if we are delivering it after 48 hours.
“Some farmers get charged up to $500 for their burnt cane.”
He said the added fine coupled with increasing harvesting and delivery rates were forcing farmers to look at other agricultural prospects.
“We don’t want to leave sugarcane farming but we have no other choice.”
