The Sugar Cane Growers Council will have discussions with other stake holders to help those farmers who are interested in sugar cane farming.
Council CEO Sundresh Chetty confirmed this after the government announced the allocation of $2 million to fund a New Farmers Assistance program that will provide assistance to those who are interested to start a sugar cane farm.
Chetty says the Council together with Sugar Cane Growers Fund, South Pacific Fertilisers and Sugar Research Institute will talk about how they can get the new generation into this business and how they can be assisted.
He says they want more youth to get involved in this since the current sugar cane farmers have reached the average age of sixty and most of their children have moved out for further education.
However, Chetty stresses that changing the mind set of today’s generation for this field will be a challenge for them.
The CEO adds that it is not necessary that those who are interested come from a farming background as they will provide all the necessary advice.
He says land is available in abundance and they want to encourage the youth to utilise this to earn and improve their standard of living.
