Vol. XVI. No. .393. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWfe 



151 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



CENTRAL FACTORIES FOR JAMAICA. 



A siateiiient of the propo,-als submif ed by Sir Friincis 

 Watts. K.C.M.G., Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for 

 the Wes-t Indies, to the Government of .Jamaica in regard to 

 the establishment of Cmtral Sugar Factories in that Colony 

 has recently bten received, and the following is an account 

 nf the principal points involved. 



For some little time a strong desire has made itself 

 manifest in Jamaica, as in other parts of the West Indies, for 

 the development of the sugar industrj'. Under modern 

 conditions, however, it is necessiry if effect be given to this 

 desire, to consider the introduction of thoroughly up to dale 

 and progressive measures, which involves the establishment 

 of modern factories of considerable size, linked up with 

 comparatively large areas producing sugar-cane. To ensure 

 the success of a modern factory it is essential to have con- 

 tracts for the performance of various servip''s extending over 

 long periods of time; these are more likely to be entered into 

 with confidence when the Government is actively concerned. 

 In accordance with this idea the proposal^ put forward in 

 Jamaica have involved the principles of direct Government 

 financial aid and co-operation. 



The preliminary paragrai'hs outlining the proposals 

 describe the relaiim'-hip that it is desirable to establish 

 between the Government, the contracting planters and the 

 Board of Directors. The principal idea is that a limited 

 liability company should be formed to operate the factory, 

 financed by Government Debentures, and controlled by 

 Directors appointed by ihe Governmtnt and by the Associa- 

 ted Contracting Planiers. The followina is a precis of the 

 proposals put forward by Sir Francis Watts, and approved 

 by the Governor and Legislative Council on April 5, 1917: — 



It is sought through the medium of the accompanying 

 form of Agreement [not reproduced here] to give eti'cct to 

 the proposals that the Government may, on business lines 

 afford assistance in developing the Sugar Industry of .Jamaica, 



The Agreement provirles that the cane growers of 

 a district shall associate themselves together under contract 

 to cultivate a sufficient acreage in sugar-canes to keep a sugar 

 factory employed and shall form a Company, the Shares of 

 which will be assigned to the Government, to be held by the 

 Government as security for the Government interest in the 

 Factory, and that on this being done the Government will 

 advance to the Company a sum agreed upon for the erection 

 and working of the Factor}-. 



This sum will be secured by Debentures of the Company 

 bearing interest at six per cent, per annum and redeemable 

 by a Sinking Fund of four per cent, whereby it is calculated 

 that the Debentures may be redeemed in about twenty years, 

 but they may be redeemed earlier. 



During such time as any Debentures are outstanding 

 the Government shall, in addition to the interest on the 

 Debentures, receive one half of the net profits of the Factory, 

 and for five years after the Debentures are redeemed the 

 Government shall receive one fourth of the profits of the 

 Factory. 



At the expiration of that time the Government is to 

 transfer the Shares back to the Company, and the Company 

 is to distribute them to the cane growers, who have entered 

 into contracts under this Agreement, in proportion to the 

 canes delivered by each contractor to the Factory. The 

 Shares are only to be held by those who continue to grow 

 canes for the Factorv. The Shares are not to receive 



any interest and only entitle their holders to vote in 

 connexion with the election of Directors or in other similar 

 matters. 



The cane growers bind themselves by this agreement to 

 maintain in cultivation in sugar-canes the acreages stipulated 

 i)y each, thus ensuring an adequate supply of canes for the 

 Factory. 



Provision is made for safeguarding the interest of the 

 Factory from default of the cane growers. 



The cane grower binds himself to supply canes to the 

 Factory for the whole period above mentioned during which 

 the Government intenst remains in the Factory, including 

 the five years during which the Government receives 

 one-fourth of the profits. The provisions of the agreement 

 and of the Central Factories Law of 1902 afford .security 

 to the Company, and thus to the Government, for the proper 

 performance of the contract. 



The contracting cane grower is to receive for his canes 

 the local value of Five Pounds of grey crystal sugar of 96° 

 test for each hundred pounds of canes delivered, this is 

 equivalent to 1/ per loa of cane for each one pound per ton, 

 in local value of ^^ugar. Thus if sugar is worth £12 per 

 ton the canes are paid for at the rate of 12 per ton. 



In addition to this payment the contracting cane gr >wer 

 is to receive his proportion of one half of the profits of the Fac- 

 tory until such time as the Debentures are paid oft', after which, 

 for a period of five years, he is to receive his proportion of 

 three-fourths of the profits. Finally, after this last named 

 period, he is to receive his proportion of the whole of the 

 profits. 



Until the interest of the Government in the Factory 

 ceases the management of the Company is to be entrusted to 

 Directors, one half of whom are to be nominated by the 

 Government and the other half by the contracting cane 

 growers. 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED 

 PROVINCES. 



The cultivation of the sugar-cane in this part of India 

 presents very different problems to those encountered in the 

 West Indies. In India, sugar-cane occupies the land only 

 about one-half the time that it does in the West Indies, and 

 after the crop is established it has to carry through a period 

 of drought that is by no means conducive to high yields. 

 Very often dr}' weather and the attack of white ants seriously 

 interfere with germination, and this is often one of the causes 

 of the low tonnage per acre. Provided irrigation can be 

 carried on during the hot or dry period, the climatic conditions 

 in the L^nited Provinces are otherwise favourable in a general 

 way for excellent growth. 



The reason for the small return of sugar seems to lie 

 more in the preparation of the sugar than in the composition 

 of the cane or the milling. The principal loss occurs during 

 boiling owing to the fact that no care is taken to avoid acidity. 



The great difficulty that has to be faced in making any 

 attempt to organize cane growing on the central factory 

 basis is that the fields of cane are so small and scattered. 

 Moreover, the cultivator cannot affoi'd to devote all his atten- 

 tion to sugar-cane: he has to grow food crops, and this of 

 necessity means a limited amount of production. 



Considering the fact that most of the sugar-cane soils 

 have been continuously cropped for hundreds of generations 

 without adequate manuring, it is surprising that growers 

 are able to obtain the yields they do under the cireumstances. 



