“Sugarcane producers are outraged by the lack of communication from the Regional Government, who have still not paid the promised 10 cents/kilo increase. Three months after the end of this year’s harvest, Miguel Albuquerque and Rafaela Fernandes seem to have forgotten the promise made in the middle of the electoral campaign for the regional elections of the 26th of May,” said Élvio Sousa in an action, today, in Tabua together with sugarcane producers.
In a note sent to the newsroom, it is mentioned that the leader of the party and the parliamentary bench recalled Albuquerque’s promise to pay the promised 50 cents/kilo and not the 40 cents to sugarcane producers, highlighting the “flagrant lack of word by Albuquerque and Secretary Rafaela Fernandes to the farmers of the Region, at a time when the Government has already appointed 65 technical specialists with an annual value of almost 3 million euros”.
Élvio Sousa accuses Albuquerque and Rafaela Fernandes of “insensitivity” and “profound” ignorance of the reality of the primary sector. “Farmers face a difficult future, with the increase in labour, fertilizers, and production factors, knowing in advance that while their profit margins dwindle those of the mills increase significantly.”
The party leader recalls that the gap between what is said and done by the ruling party remains wide and that their word means nothing. “We are already in mid-August and sugarcane farmers are still waiting for their promised increase. This equates to a total lack of respect for the work farmers do. They are not slaves and deserve to be treated with respect!”
Several months ago an article highlighted the desperation of the sugarcane farmers who were now digging up what they see as unprofitable crops (sugarcane) and moving towards a different type of farming or giving up altogether.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
