Though sugar may never return to its glory days of being a significant revenue earner, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has assured that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will fight its way back to good health. To do this, Ali said plans are in the pipeline to expand GuySuCo’s role beyond sugar production while giving its workers a stake in the process.
Speaking at 77th anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs on Monday, Ali said, as of late, GuySuCo has been making small but commendable strides. In this regard, he noted factory downtime is down by 22% while cane yields have risen by 11%.
He also highlighted that critical investments are being made in several areas. These include predictive maintenance, automation, and drone-assisted field monitoring. Mechanisation is also being rolled out. Ali said this is not intended to replace people, but to support operations in the face of labour shortages.
“And let me be very clear, we have already said to the Union, we want to sit down with you and discuss how the workers can be owners of this mechanisation process, how we can make the workload lighter for the workers, how we can make the condition of work better by allowing the workers to be owners in the plantation and to be part of the revival and ownership of sugar in Guyana,” the President said.
He also noted the government’s move to value-added packaging, adding that this is one of the strategies being employed to attract more revenue.
Turning his attention those who lambaste GuySuCo for its poor production in the first crop of 2025, Ali stressed that there were severe setbacks, none of which had to do with mismanagement. In Berbice alone, Ali said rainfall was 212% above normal, adding that more than half of the harvesting days were lost.
“That is not incompetence, that is climate change, and leadership means adapting…,” expressed the president.
Ali acknowledged that the road ahead for GuySuCo is not easy, hence it requires reimagining the state agency’s role altogether. “GuySuCo can and must become a hub of rural economic development. Its lands, infrastructure and knowledge base can support other crops like rice, corn, cassava, livestock operations, agro-processing hubs, farmer training and extension services, fabrication and engineering services,” said the Head of State.
Overall, Ali said the new direction will entail crop, skills, and income diversification, all while ensuring that sugar workers are kept as partners in the rebuilding process.
