| -following completion of several feasibility studiesIn the face of nonstop criticism of government’s decision to halt cultivation at the Wales Sugar Estate, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, stated that a decision on the future of the estate lands will be made before December,Colton Parayko Jersey, following the completion of several feasibility studies.Holder indicated that that decision will be made with the 17,Doug Gilmour Jersey,000 workers and private cane farmers in mind. The feasibility studies, he said,Marcel Goc Jersey, have commenced; research is proving that the cane lands are suitable for the cultivation of orchard and citrus crops,Aaron Ekblad Team North America Jersey, while other parts can be used for aquaculture and dairy farming.He stated that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is also exploring the viability of having some of the lands leased to members of the community in order to get them more involved in agriculture ventures.“We have not disregarded the workers or the community. The estate will be merged with Uitvlugt so the workers will have jobs. If Uitvlugt cannot contain them then the new ventures on GuySuCo cane lands at Wales will,Patrik Berglund Jersey,” Holder told Kaieteur News.At present,Jared Spurgeon Jersey, the estate is performing at a 50% capacity but once joined, it is projected that the two estates will run at a maximum capacity,Michal Rozsival Jersey, he opined. However, a source at the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) indicated that a feasibility study was carried out on the estate lands and it revealed that aquaculture was not conducive to the soil type.The source stated that the “new ventures” of GuySuCo will put the stability of the Wales community at stake, while leaving in its wake hundreds of people unemployed. The source questioned how many of the Estate workers can be absorbed into the new ventures since it is not feasible for all 17,Brent Seabrook Jersey,000 of them to be employed at Uitvlugt.Once the estate is completely shut down, the source pointed out, some $2 billion in revenue brought in from the estate will no longer be generated in the community.Despite such condemnation, Holder remains assertive that the new ventures will do well. He said the Ministry has adopted a new approach to sustaining GuySuCo. He stated that since sugar profits are falling all over the world, it is more cost-effective to cut its production and move toward diversification.“It is evident that we are not gaining as much as we are putting in so why not diversify the industry and save GuySuCo,Dennis Rasmussen Jersey,” he said. “GuySuCo is too big to fail…Sugar can’t fail.”He said it is with this approach that they are using the Wales Estate as the model of diversification and it “can be applied to other estates”.Last Friday, the High Court had granted an interim injunction on behalf of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union and the National Association of Agricultural Commercial and Industrial Employees to prohibit the sending home and reassignment of more than 100 workers at the Estate.The announcement of the shut down, over the last few months, had sparked several protests by the workers. |
