‘Honour your promise’
Pay $25.5m owed to growers - Chaudhry
GOVERNMENT should honour its promise and pay cane growers the $25.5 million it still owes them for their 2020 crop, says the National Farmers Union.
General secretary and former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry claimed the sum owed was part of the Government guaranteed cane price of $85 per tonne.
Mr Chaudhry said of the $25.5 million, Labasa growers were owed $10.2 million while $15.3 million was owed to those on Viti Levu.
“Farmers have so far been paid $70 per tonne and are owed a balance of $14.99 per tonne, which they are now demanding be paid before they harvest this year’s crop,” he claimed.
“The Ministry of Economy should release this money to FSC so that farmers can be paid their due.
“The injection of $25.5 million in the cane belt will trigger off cane harvesting, contribute to businesses and create jobs and livelihoods for thousands who are currently unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.
“Cane growers nationwide have taken a stand through petitions addressed to the Prime Minister to make it clear that they will not brook injustice by being forced to harvest and deliver at a loss.”
Mr Chaudhry said Government had borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from international financial institutions and received grants from its regional development partners to mitigate the hardships faced by people from COVID-19.
He said he had written to the Sugar Industry Tribunal proposing ways in which the standoff between the farmers, and Government and FSC could be resolved.
Questions sent to Prime Minister and Sugar Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and permanent secretary Yogesh Karan in regards to the comments made by Mr Chaudhry remain unanswered when this edition went to press last night.