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Mai also spoke about January's upheaval in the sugar industry - as the cane farmers rejected the commercial agreement put forward by ASR/BSI.
He spoke about what he called the tough love famers showed him - and the leeway given to the farmers by law enforcement:
Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"The UDP is praying for more protests and hoping for tensions between the police and the cane farmers to rise to explosive levels. All of this, while they are insensitive to the plight of the cane farmers. How did they wished that the cane farmers would have ran over me and trampled me during the standoff? That did not happen, Madam Speaker, and it will not happen."
"There is evidence with the difference in how the UDP and the PUP handle the cane farmers protest. Apart from only a small incident between a few of the protesters and myself, who were showing me some tough love, the recent protest, Madam Speaker, was handled well. It would have been under the UDP. The security forces would have been led by some roughneck UDP. Manhandled the cane farmers, would have been rough them up, had their guns raised."
As Mai spoke, members of the BSCFA were in the gallery, apparently to support him.
