Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

[evanovitch]

The Government is getting ready to pump millions of tax dollars into the debt-ridden Citrus Growers Association which is on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Association has been up in arms with the Ministry of Agriculture which it claims has been dragging its feet in responding to a request for emergency funding.

Agriculture Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton disclosed Tuesday afternoon that Cabinet has approved a financing plan to keep the association afloat but not without strict conditions.

The bail out package being contemplated to save the country's citrus growers is in the region of $100 million.

Dr. Tufton stated that Cabinet deliberated on the issue on Monday and decided to come to the rescue, but with conditions.

A recent management audit of the Association revealed that the entity's liabilities far outstrip its assets.

A new business plan was presented to the Agriculture Ministry to steer the Association to financial viability but the directors of the Citrus Growers Association needed to agree to certain terms, he said .

"They needed to act on the report on the management audit and we'll be prepared to work with them as long as they would allow for some adjustment in the way the company was managed. The Government was not going to provide financial assistance until we were confident that they were going to restructure and that restructuring based on their current state required some from of equity participation," said Dr. Tufton.

But with the onset of the new crop and millions of dollars in earnings at stake, the Association became agitated and complained about the length of time it was taking for the Government to come to their rescue.

According to Dr. Tufton, a crucial meeting will be held with the stakeholders this Friday to come up with a clear plan of action in light of the approval to grant bridge-financing support.

"I intend to go and speak to the wider body of farmers and members of the association to put the position of the Government to them and to explain how we need to proceed in order to ensure that the tax payers resources which may have to be provided to them, is utilized in a manner that helps them to be viable," he said.

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

Maybe because Jamaicans need to own something in the country?!
If this industry get oit of the hands of local ,in addition to Sigar,whet else would be left??

[evanovitch]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

r they feasible atall...wen i hear bout citrus board, i hear coffee board, cocoa board, milk board an alllll di odda non performing local industries.....why r they insolvent? fi real...why r they insolvent? why r so many of the many homegrown (no pun intended)industries insolvent r non-performing....why is Jamaica sooooo nonperforming?

u know, i looked at some pictures of various social events wid di recent royal visits...di ongle Jcans i could seh fi sure dat dem was Jcans were all reps from govament....well, some Jcans were dere yes, but ,well, di ongle bit of colour was the reps from di govament...all di odda movers an shakers blended togedda juss fine.... so why taxes muss spend pon dis yet again

[Wahalla]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

please next time sumadi post bout deh flim bout Life and debt put a link tuh dis thread... the implications are never mentioned...

[barosa]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

Poster: evanovitch
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">r they feasible atall...wen i hear bout citrus board, i hear coffee board, cocoa board, milk board an alllll di odda non performing local industries.....why r they insolvent? fi real...why r they insolvent? why r so many of the many homegrown (no pun intended)industries insolvent r non-performing....why is Jamaica sooooo nonperforming?</div></div>

It sure makes one wonder what are the purposes of these growers associations. I would say in Colonial times they were more purposefull because there very existence was predicated on Export to the Empire and later the Commonwealth... Today, I think it's more like keeping the institutions alive and more importantly keeping themselves &quot;employed&quot;... Sorry for the cynicism but that's how I view them all...

As an independent country, are we exporting more agricultural products to fill our foreign currency reserve coffers? if No! why not? ~ Is there still a &quot;Banana Board or a &quot;Coconut Board as we used to know them? I dont think so; the same can be said for many of the crops we still grow and used to Export &quot;big time&quot;. Citrus like Cocoa and Sugar have suffered likewise, so why do we need these self-serving organisations to continue as if they were still in old days when they really mattered?

The Govt need to bring about changes putting all of them them under a common authority in the Ministry of Agriculture. Each will still have their say in their respective areas of expertise, and in end it would be more efficient and cost saving... Just a thought!
____________________________

Boy! Aren't we living in interesting times?

[evanovitch]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

fren an cumbolo tied up in dem boards not to mention di graft dat is given to dem unda di guise of operational funds etc....is a bloody shame....said ting from mi a likkle pickney...

do we evah renegotiate any of the agreements we have wid outsiders re our agricultural products...at least di ones whe dem still ha interest in...how much we getting from Coffee? anybody can tell mi a figga...mi know seh dat any farrin exchange go fi servicing debt etc but wat do we get

yaad ha potention r else soooo many wudden a bruk dem neck fi go dem go try a ting....but dang...why it still naw go no whe

[barosa]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

[quote=evanovitch]<span style="font-weight: bold">fren an cumbolo tied up in dem boards not to mention di graft dat is given to dem unda di guise of operational funds etc....is a bloody shame....said ting from mi a likkle pickney...</span>

<span style="font-style: italic">EXACTLY!, All those boards should be disbanded and replaced by one centralized Authority. I know it's easier said than done in Jamaica but they should do away with all the hereditary &quot;family &amp; fren fre&quot; run boards and their branch offices all over Jamaica to be replaced by what is required for local and Export purposes where neccessary</span>


<span style="font-weight: bold">do we evah renegotiate any of the agreements we have wid outsiders re our agricultural products...at least di ones whe dem still ha interest in...<span style="font-weight: bold">how much we getting from Coffee? anybody can tell mi a figga...</span> mi know seh dat any farrin exchange go fi servicing debt etc but wat do we get?</span>

<span style="font-style: italic">For Coffee, The &quot;Coffee Board&quot; should have some figgas! ~ There should be some earnings to Jamaica, but how much? We can't be sure if we are getting the best &quot;bang for the buck&quot; because we allowed the Japanese to &quot;invest&quot; by buying up the best &quot;Blue Mountain Coffee&quot; lands... Banana is practically dead. The &quot;old board&quot; no longer exist and was supposed to be replaced by &quot;some kind of caribbean Association&quot; that was attempted, I doubt we were helped by it. As for citrus, we are no longer a big exporter due to US, Central and South American competition. Why is the citrus association asking the Govt for a bail out now? ~ Are they finally gonna Compete? </span>


<span style="font-weight: bold">yaad ha potention r else soooo many wudden a bruk dem neck fi go dem go try a ting....but dang...why it still naw go no whe ?</span>

<span style="font-style: italic">Because there is no incentives to individual &quot;would be&quot; growers and farmers to cultivate idle lands which would add to the <span style="font-weight: bold">Agricultural Productivity of Jamaica</span>...</span>
______________________________

Boy! Aren't we living in interesting times?

[evanovitch]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

do u eva wonda if , since di debacle dat ensued afta Joshua made his bid to renegotiate the bauxite levy, dat politicians 'learn' dem lesson n dat is why dem no deal wid no odda industry since den

a mean, wen it come to say the coffee,how long ago was dat deal made? look how much the price of the coffee has gone up in the decades,as far as the retail price...wat about the frontend deal wid di production...

u eva wonda , wid di 'growth' of 'signature' coffee consumption, how much we as an island, have missed out on because of deals made wich seemingly have given us likkle leeway to renegotiate up in our favour?

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">do u eva wonda if , since di debacle dat ensued afta Joshua made his bid to renegotiate the bauxite levy, dat politicians 'learn' dem lesson n dat is why dem no deal wid no odda industry since den

a mean, wen it come to say the coffee,how long ago was dat deal made? look how much the price of the coffee has gone up in the decades,as far as the retail price...wat about the frontend deal wid di production...

u eva wonda , wid di 'growth' of 'signature' coffee consumption, how much we as an island, have missed out on because of deals made wich seemingly have given us likkle leeway to renegotiate up in our favour? </div></div>What about sugar?/ You don't think that if those lands were in the US they would be used to prpoduce pore profitable commodities?
You don't think that Jamaica get too little in return for the majority of arable land they tie up on sugar??

Do you think that ther is sufficient investment in irrigation for agriculture.

[barosa]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

Poster: evanovitch

do u eva wonda if , since di debacle dat ensued afta Joshua made his bid to renegotiate the bauxite levy, dat politicians 'learn' dem lesson n dat is why dem no deal wid no odda industry since den

<span style="font-style: italic">Yu mus rememba seh dat Joshwa was dealing wid &quot;Hardnosed farin Industrialsts&quot; at dat time. If he had gone after local enterprises with the same gusto, he wud carry sway. The Railway was easy, him closed it dung...</span>


a mean, wen it come to say the coffee,how long ago was dat deal made? look how much the price of the coffee has gone up in the decades,as far as the retail price...wat about the frontend deal wid di production...

<span style="font-style: italic">I guess di Japanese must have outsmarted dem or dem OUTSMART demselves wid di frontend deal wid production, etc etc!</span>


u eva wonda , wid di 'growth' of 'signature' coffee consumption, how much we as an island, have missed out on because of deals made wich seemingly have given us likkle leeway to renegotiate up in our favour?

<span style="font-style: italic">Maybe dem was so glad to get any deal, dat dem figet fi put di proppa clauses in di hagreements to protect OUR rights!!</span> A fi wi FALT!!... Where was Joshua?
_____________________________

Boy! Aren't we living in interesting times?

[evanovitch]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">do u eva wonda if , since di debacle dat ensued afta Joshua made his bid to renegotiate the bauxite levy, dat politicians 'learn' dem lesson n dat is why dem no deal wid no odda industry since den

a mean, wen it come to say the coffee,how long ago was dat deal made? look how much the price of the coffee has gone up in the decades,as far as the retail price...wat about the frontend deal wid di production...

u eva wonda , wid di 'growth' of 'signature' coffee consumption, how much we as an island, have missed out on because of deals made wich seemingly have given us likkle leeway to renegotiate up in our favour? </div></div>

What about sugar?/ <span style="font-weight: bold">You don't think that if those lands were in the US they would be used to prpoduce pore profitable commodities? </span>You don't think that Jamaica get too little in return for the majority of arable land they tie up on sugar??

Do you think that ther is sufficient investment in irrigation for agriculture. </div></div>

hell no...an the indication of said is Obama's reference to the cessation of payments to farmers....u done know dat the govament has foreva bolstered the sugar producers coming out of Florida...u done know dat the US has paid farmers to NOT produce certain crops to maintain high prices...how u tink govament cheese jokes get stawted...an before dat, the availability of said cheese....

they tawk a good game re capitalism but have neva allowed the markets to operate freely in the true sense of demand and supply setting price....dem always aid dose industries dat ha di bess lobbyists...

[evanovitch]

Re: Gov’t to bail out Citrus Growers ....WHY? dat is my ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: barosa</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Poster: evanovitch

do u eva wonda if , since di debacle dat ensued afta Joshua made his bid to renegotiate the bauxite levy, dat politicians 'learn' dem lesson n dat is why dem no deal wid no odda industry since den

<span style="font-style: italic">Yu mus rememba seh dat Joshwa was dealing wid &quot;Hardnosed farin Industrialsts&quot; at dat time. If he had gone after local enterprises with the same gusto, he wud carry sway. The Railway was easy, him closed it dung...</span>


a mean, wen it come to say the coffee,how long ago was dat deal made? look how much the price of the coffee has gone up in the decades,as far as the retail price...wat about the frontend deal wid di production...

<span style="font-style: italic">I guess di Japanese must have outsmarted dem or dem OUTSMART demselves wid di frontend deal wid production, etc etc!</span>


u eva wonda , wid di 'growth' of 'signature' coffee consumption, how much we as an island, have missed out on because of deals made wich seemingly have given us likkle leeway to renegotiate up in our favour?

<span style="font-style: italic">Maybe dem was so glad to get any deal, dat dem figet fi put di proppa clauses in di hagreements to protect OUR rights!!</span> A fi wi FALT!!... <span style="font-weight: bold">Where was Joshua?
_____________________________</span>
Boy! Aren't we living in interesting times? </div></div>

the irony is dat him daddy was di local lawyer fi di emerging banana board whe come up wid a plan dat was palatable to du United Fruit Company bak in di day...yeah man...aint dat a byatch...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">In 1922 Manley returned to Jamaica, where he gained prominence as a barrister. The economic distress of the late 1920s and the 1930s drew him into public service. Manley helped form Jamaica’s first large cooperative, the Jamaica Banana Growers Association, which challenged the United States-owned United Fruit and the British-owned Elders and Fyffes companies. <span style="font-weight: bold">Manley's efforts produced a contract favorable to the cooperative and acceptable to United Fruit.</span> </div></div>

now,tink of the time period and who would be owning the producing lands in Ja...the current 21 figga in di local farmers of the time