BARBADOS’ SUGAR CANE industry could collapse under a new pressure – the current drought.
And independent grower Patrick Bethell is calling for serious reinvestment in the industry if it is to survive and not end up being abandoned, as happened in St Kitts and Antigua.
When the DAILY NATION visited the Friendship Plantation in Friendship Gap, St Michael, last Thursday, Bethell drove the team around the large expanse of canefields, explaining how his fields mirrored what was taking place in the sector.
As he drove across the 55-acre property, rows of stubby canes stood out from those that were planted a few feet above ground level.
“The reason is you get germination with the rainfall. Then you go through the January-May dry season . . . ,” he said.
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