Cane farmers demand EU $$

Cane Farmers went to Port of Spain Monday to ask Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath to pay them the money the previous government received on their behalf from the European Union.

Seukeran Tambie, President of the Cane Producers Association of TT (CPATT), told reporters they want to meet with both Bharath and the Prime Minister to discuss a grant from the European Union (EU), which was meant to provide incentives for farmers following the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited.

Bharath was ill and could not meet the cane farmers.

“We are disappointed...when we meet next week I am hoping he would have his business fix and have all his research done with all the relevant facts and information, so we could get some results. The population must want to know what is happening with the issue of the cane farmers," Tambie told reporters.

He explained that more than 5,000 farmers are waiting for a decision on the matter so they could get some financial relief.

Tambie blamed the previous government for the problem, saying the Manning administration did not want to give the cane farmers any support.

"They shut down our operations without a proper exit strategy, sugar cane workers got compensation and land while cane farmers sit here in poverty, so we hope something is done soon," he said.

The European Union gave the Manning administration a grant of approximately TT$350 million in support of a national strategy in the aftermath of the closure of the sugar company.

The money was supposed to be used for the benefit of former sugar workers and cane farmers following their dislocation in the industry.

However, the PNM government refused to pay any money to farmers, arguing that the money was to be kept by the government to be used for its benefit, not to be given to the former sugar workers and cane farmers.

In 2009 the then Housing, Planning and the Environment Minister, Emily Dick-Forde presented Government’s plans for the EU allocation saying that the money was not to be provided to any specific group but was to form part of "sectoral support" in the national budget.