Students suggest expansion of sugar industry

Christopher Thomas, Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:As [color:562f=blue !important][color:562f=blue !important]Jamaica grapples with economic challenges, sixth-form students of The Manning's School in Westmoreland are suggesting that the sugar industry be tied to other industries to keep it alive and relevant.
Speaking against the background of the uncertainty facing the sugar sector during a recent Gleaner-[color:562f=blue !important][color:562f=blue !important]Island Grill Youth Editors' Forum at the Savanna-la-Mar-based school, the students said that while the sugar industry remained important, it needed the support of other industries to regain the buoyancy of former years.
"With regard to our sugar industry, we must recognise that no industry will continue on an upward scale forever," said Oshane Vascianna, one of the eight student panellists at the forum. "There is either going to be a rejuvenation of the industry or the death of the industry.
"My proposal is not to make the sugar industry extinct," continued Vascianna. "We need to [color:562f=blue !important][color:562f=blue !important]invest equally in the creation of other industries - such as music and sports - which could help to supplement the earnings from sugar."
Vascianna said the popular notion is that potential for substantial earnings is greater in sports and music.
BOOSTING SPORTS INDUSTRY
Curtis Moxham, another panellist, suggested using some of the revenue generated from the sugar sector to build a vibrant sports industry.
"We currently earn $1 billion annually from the sugar industry," said Moxham. "Some of these earnings could be channelled into the sporting industry so that sports such as tennis, badminton, and even chess, which are in their infancy, could be properly developed alongside other sports such as athletics."
Dorrell Dixon said he would like to see the ethanol component of the sugar industry, which is getting little more than token attention, being fully exploited to help develop other industries such as sports.
"Ethanol is not really a booming industry in Jamaica, (but) if we manage to expand the use of ethanol in Jamaica, we could easily make up a lot of revenue to invest in areas like sports, music, and the sciences," said Dixon.
COULD EXPAND ROLE
Tadray Marshall opined that the sugar sector could take on an expanded role in areas such as energy generation, which could help to satisfy the need for new sources of electricity for local consumption.
"We should not be thinking about abandoning sugar production because we have not fully exploited all its potential," declared Marshall. "We could boost our energy efficiency by generating electricity from the by-product of sugar."
Factories such as Monymusk in Clarendon have long been using bagasse as a fuel source to provide the heat energy, used in their mills, and electricity, which is typically sold to the consumer electricity grid.
While many fear mechanisation, Shana-Kaye Patton said it is worth exploring because of the capacity to generate greater earnings.
"Mechanisation will cause loss of jobs but an increase in profits," said Patton. "Some of that profit could be plugged into the sports and music, which could evolve in excellent support industries to supplement the earnings from sugar."