The Chief Executive Officer of Sugarcane Growers Fund, Raj Sharma, has acknowledged the budget allocation by the government as a fair increase. The government has assigned $200,000 towards the Cane Growers Council elections and a further $800,000 for the council’s operations. Sugarcane Growers Council CEO Vimal Dutt shared these feelings, expressing contentment with the allocation.
In the recent past, the government set a record by compensating farmers with the highest sugarcane price ever – $91.28 per ton. Minister of Finance, Biman Prasad, announced last Friday that the price of cane for the 2023 season is projected to be around $102 per ton – another record.
In the new budget, the Ministry of Sugar Industry and Multi-Ethnic Affairs received escalated funding of $76.1 million. The majority of this amount – $66 million – is intended for farm developments aiming to augment cane production. This can be achieved through an array of means: fertilizer and weedicide subsidy, an upgrade of cane access roads, farm mechanisation, subsidy for manual harvesting, and more.
Mr. Biman has emphasized efforts to fortify the Sugar Cane Growers Council and increase its democratic < functioning, enhancing representation of farmers' interests. He revealed the allocation of $200,000 for the council elections and $800,000 for council operations. The Sugar Research Institute of Fiji and the Sugar Tribunal have been respectively granted $1.1 million and $400,000. Funding has also been allocated towards promoting language, culture, and arts, as well as small community projects. The government has also approved a $1.2 million budget for the construction of gas crematoriums in Labasa, Navua, Lautoka, and Ba.