fjEVV YORK. 

 80 PANIC AL. 



OP THE 



DEPAK-TINIENT OF AG-RIOULXUHE 

 1"'rin.idad. and. 'Po'bag-o. 



Part L] 1920. [Vol. XIX. 



SUGAE. 



THE TRINIDA.D CANE FARMING INDUSTRY. 



Its past and sug-gestions for its future. 



By W. G. Freeman, 

 Director of Agriculture. 



(A Lecture delivered to the Savana Grande District Agricultural Society). 



I HAVE chosen as our subject for discussion to-day W " The Cane 

 Farming Industry : its past and suggestions for its future." It is an 

 industry of the greatest importance to the prosperity of tire colony and 

 ttie present, when high prices are being obtained by both factory-owner 

 and farmer, but when the future is far from clear, seems to be an 

 opportune moment to make a survey of the situation in the hope of 

 leading to permanent improvements. 



DEVELOPMENT. 



The Trinidad cane fai-ming system was initiated by Sir Nevile 

 Lubbock at the Usine Ste. Madel^-ine in 1882. In a letter of August 25, 

 1910 published in the Proc. Ag. Sac. T. d T. X. 1910 ^j. 850 he says 

 " In 18S4 which was the first crop derived from the thirteen farmers 

 whom I had induced to commence, the total was 2,242 tons." From 

 this small beginning in Naparima the industry has progressed to such 

 an extent that during the last four years (1916-19) the number of 

 cane farmers in Trinidad has ranged from 2J,-402 to 22,226, with an 

 average of 21,151. 



In 1884 can3 farmjrs produced an insignificant portion of the total 

 crop : by 1899 they produced about one-fifth : by 1909 one-quarter: and 

 during each of the years 1917, 1918 and 1919 a half, and iu two of these 

 three years slightly more than one-half, of the colony's canes, i.e. the 

 factories are supplied to-day by cine farmers with approximately half 

 the canes they grind. 



Comparing 1919 with 1899 the estates cane production has decreased 

 by about 90,000 tons and the farmers' has increased by about 160,000 

 tons. 



The tendency is thus undoubtedly for the factories to be increasingly 

 dependent on the farmers for their cane supplies, a tendency which is 

 likely to be still more marked with shortage of labour unless this can 

 be compensated by increased mechanical tillage or in other ways. 



(1) June 24, iy20. 



