KEY organisations that once played an important role in Fiji’s sugar industry were dismantled by the previous government without consultation with cane growers, says Sugar Cane Growers Council chief executive officer Vimal Dutt.
Mr Dutt raised concerns about the loss of key industry institutions during the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Sugar Industry consultation.
He said organisations such as the Sugar Commission of Fiji and the Sugar Marketing Authority had been proactive in supporting the industry but were no longer operating.
“The Sugar Marketing Authority was dismantled for no good reason,” Mr Dutt said.
“The decision was made without proper consultation with growers.”
He proposed bringing back an umbrella organisation to coordinate the industry and ensure growers had representation in key decision-making bodies.
He said growers’ representation on stakeholder boards was critical to ensuring their views were reflected in policies affecting the industry.
Mr Dutt also raised concerns about the Sugar Cane Growers Fund, saying its governing Act was amended in 2015 without consultation with growers.
He called for the previous board composition to be restored and for growers to have a stronger role in their own institutions.
“We need growers to be on their own institutions, and that’s where we will be able to administer, and we will be able to contribute from policy perspective and governance perspective,” Mr Dutt said.
He said growers’ views had been missing from policy-making, contributing to the challenges facing the industry today.
