(o) Sugar: NFU Double Take or Censored Report?

 In Wednesday's Short Briefs I provided a link to National Farmers Union president Sanjeet Maharaj saying the Union supported the goverment. "This," he said, "was probably the first time for a prime minister to have an open forum with the people of Rakiraki to freely discuss sugar industry issues." Maharaj said the NFU has been "supporting the government right from the first day [and] have confidence in the government to resolve the issue of land leases and other problems facing the sugar industry."

These opinions are apparently not shared by the NFU leaders, according to an unsigned or attributed NFU posting on the Fiji Labour Party's website. 

Whether this represents a divided leadership, pressure by the FLP (former PM Mahrendra Chaudhry's FLP is a major force within the Union, and a reason Bainimarama has given to "de-politicize" farmer representation. See below), or whether Maharaj chose his words carefully -- and the state censors even more carefully -- we cannot know.  But it is clear the NFU has problems with the RadioFiji's report. Click link for the full statement.

The statement said cane growers had been marginalized, in an industry in which they have a 70 percent stake, due to the dissolution of the Sugar Commission, the Fiji Sugar Marketing Ltd and the Sugar Cane Growers Council, actions over which they had not been consulted. "Growers have thus been left defenceless and completely at the mercy of the State and a failed Fiji Sugar Corporation. None of these moves are likely to promote goodwill and cooperation within the industry."

The statement also questioned policies and actions claimed to have contributed to sugar's worst year ever and intimidation of growers and NFU officials by the army. It concluded with, "As for the interim government’s intention to revive the sugar industry, there has been a lot of rhetoric but little to show for it on the ground."

See also PM on sugar and politics. Link.