And turning back now to our interview with Jose Mai, he may be in a wheelchair for the time being, but the Orange Walk South representative still keeps very informed about the sugar industry.
Over the weekend the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association voted no on the PM's proposal to give up their litigation against Tate and Lyle and BSI for Fair Trade premiums and receive 1 million dollars in fertilizer in exchange.
Well, the former Minister of Agriculture who said today that he understands why they voted no, as nobody knows the plight of the farmers, like, well…farmers. He said the PM's offer was "not justified":
Jose Mai, Area Representative - OW South
"From the, from the first time I read that there's going to be a decision made, I figured that the "no" would have won because nobody knows the business better than the farmer, the cane farmer himself. So I don't think that the offer that was justified. But I keep away from the sugar industry, which is not my area. I, I, I'm representing a large amount of The Cane farmers in Orange Walk, Orange Walk South is the second largest branch and so I listen to the complaints of the farmers daily. In San Estevan is the biggest, that's the Prime Ministers constituency followed by, by my constituency Orange Walk South. So I listen to the complaints. I listen to the cries daily. And so, I figure that it should go in that direction, because, I don't think that the farmers did not know that they were getting a million dollars of fertilizer. It's not much for, if you're giving it, it is a lot you know if you have nothing and somebody to give you $5, it's a lot. But if I'm giving you $1 million and I want you to give up $11 million for the potentially, you know, dropping that as I didn't, I don't I don't think that need that much, much sense. But, the farmers know that better than me. They know that business better than anybody else. We sometimes we just look from outside in. But to really, really understand the industry means that you have to live with these people for years and years to come."
"If I would have been there, I would have voted no, I believe so. I would have voted, no, because, I would love to see that justice be served, but that's the judiciary system, right? I think I needed to see that just the judiciary system in other parts of the world also. But we will that nationals chancing the poor farmers in South America. We heard in Ecuador, in Peru are these multinationals but Belize is Belize."
"Right. And we have a judicial system. Right. So to me, if I would have wanted to see that system tested because they'll have an ability for where some group of farmers take a multinational to court, that's never happened before. Never, ever, ever."
He went on to say that the settlement proposal needed further consultation than what was being offered
Jules Vasquez
"So if you were advising the Prime Minister, that's the advice you would have given it.:
Jose Mai, Area Representative - OW South
"My advice would be a little different. I think that more of a settlement could have been arranged if you were owing me $11 million dollars. I don't have the money to pay you, well then let us settle. Can I give you $1 million a year? I mean, let us negotiate. But I don't think it went that way. It was a give you $1 million. And then you dropped the $11 million dollars. So I don't think there wasn't much negotiation. It was either or either right. But I would have been a little more cautious on making these offerings because the farmers are farmers because they've been in the business for many years. And I'm sure that they did the math. So it's $1 million, but there's how far can that take us nuh? How far can that go? So 11 million dollars is a much bigger figure than a million dollars so the farmers are very needy and I'm sure that some of them were tempted to take a million dollars but when it's divided among the cane farmers its not much they could have benefited from it."
