We also asked the Chairman of the Orange Walk Branch of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, about this year's cane payment. Like the Minister, he also believes the figure could have been higher.
He justified that position within the context of earnings in other sugar-producing nations:
https://youtu.be/
The Orange Walk Branch Chairman is also signaling concern from cane farmers about the estimates for sugar cane payment that the mill has produced for the upcoming crop season, which is supposed to start in about four weeks tentatively. According to those estimates, farmers should get an increase in earnings for their first payment, but according to Fred Ortega, that increase is conditional. According to Ortega, the calculations from the mill assume that the farmers will be able to maintain a certain level of quality of cane being delivered to the mill and that if that quality falls, the farmers will get a lower payment. Here's his explanation on that matter:
