Yesterday we showed you what the BSCFA farmers had to say after their refusal to sign a 4 year commercial agreement with ASR/BSI. They would prefer to have a one year agreement, and that the interim agreement would give time for the commission of inquiry to carry out its investigation. Today, we asked the Minister in charge of the sub committee what the status of the inquiry was.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"What we have been engaged in as the leader on the inter-ministerial, the subcommittee of ministers, we have been engaged in negotiations, one to restore Fairtrade for the BSCFA farmers in addition to finalizing the commercial agreement, along with that is the Commission of Inquiry which is not something that our board or our ministerial committee will decide, that will come from the prime minister in terms of the selection, the appointees to that particular commission and it is hope that we can get that commission of inquiry going early next year."
Reporter:
"So then in relation to the start of the new sugar crop season, BSCFA says they want a one year agreement, not four as being suggested by the miller, and they said that they would want the intervention of the subcommittee to see if they can find a middle ground."
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"And again, that goes to the whole point of our negotiation process, we had another round of meetings yesterday with the BSCFA in Belmopan after Cabinet and it is our intention to meet again with ASR tomorrow so it is a continuing negotiation, I know that the mill is saying that they will be ready for December 11th to start the crop but again it's a technical decision because you have to do an assessment of whether they are prepared, the farmers, whether the crop is ready because you cannot start the crop and stop the crop so it is very important to do an assessment, it really comes down to a technical decision that the Ministry of Agriculture will have to make on the readiness of the plantation to take to the mill, so that is an assessment being carried out right now by the Ministry of Agriculture so it is hop that between December 11th when the mill is ready to receive cane and sometime in early January, sometime there we can start the crop."
