THE Fiji Sugar Corporation is looking to follow a model adopted by Mauritius which hires foreign labour to cut sugar cane.
While addressing concerns raised by farmers in Ba yesterday about the hiring of foreign labour, FSC chief executive officer Graham Clark said the Corporation was looking for solutions that would ensure sugar cane was delivered to the mills on time and with consistency.
During a consultation for the sugar industry and iTaukei landowners hosted by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, a concerned grower, said people receiving welfare money in villages who were capable of working as labourers should be used instead of hiring foreigners.
“We are all striving to grow more sugar cane and the worst thing we can have is for sugar cane not to be harvested and not delivered to the mill and we have to make as much sugar as we can from your sugar cane,” said Mr Clark.
Mr Clark said he had visited Mauritius last year with FSC chairperson Vishnu Mohan to look at the model used there.
“They bring groups of labour who are then tasked to do the jobs. In the cane harvesting season, they assist in cutting cane and after the harvesting season they assist in cultivating cane.
“The result is more cane delivered to the mill and better cane being produced as a result of the cultivation. That’s a model that works. So we’ve looked to investigate that model and to see if it can work for Fiji but we are mindful of the conditions in Fiji.”
