FUNDAMENTOS DE LÓGICA MODAL Resumen
Definición 5.2 (Sistemas de transiciones etiquetadas) Un sistema de transiciones etiquetadas es
1. The Mitr Lao Sugar Company’s investment application was approved by the GOL in February 2005. The company, a wholly owned unit of the Mitr Phol Sugar Company of Thailand, was granted a land concession of 10,000 ha for 40 years, with a concession fee of US$6.00 per ha per year (with an option to extend for an additional 20 years) to grow sugar cane. Its original request for 25,000 ha was not approved, but it was authorized to establish contract farming arrangements with farmers in Xayboury and Champon districts, Savannakhet Province, on an additional 15,000 ha using the ‘2+3’ formula (see above). Operations began in Savannakhet Province in 2006 with the establishment of 100 ha of sugar cane trials.
– In August 2007, the company announced that 10 percent of the Mitr Lao Company would be sold to Tate & Lyle, a respected British food ingredients company, for £2 million (US$4 million). Mitr Lao Sugar plans to invest a total of US$116 million to produce sugar from sugar cane grown on its plantations and by contract farming, and construct and operate a sugar mill in Xayboury District. The mill will have an initial capacity of 5,000 tons rising to 10,000 tons of cane per day. Lao PDR will be eligible to export sugar duty free into the EU under the Everything But Arms initiative, effective from 1 July 2009. Raw sugar shipped to the EU by Mitr Lao Sugar will be refined by Tate & Lyle.
– Although the land concession fee is US$6.00 per ha per year, managers at the Mitr Lao Company stated that the transaction costs of doing business in Laos had resulted in a concession rental fee equivalent to US$50 per ha per year. These transaction costs include the cost of payments for land surveys, public infrastructure requested by the government and villagers (including village schools, roads, weirs, and pumps along the Mekong River) in exchange for the concession, various study visits to Thailand, as well as other special requests from the GOL.
2. The Mitr Lao Company operates its concession as a nucleus estate. It initially adopted the GOL’s ‘2+3’ formula for contract farming with villagers in Xayboury and
Champon districts, in Savannakhet Province, and was planning to expand to Xaybouthong and Mahaxay districts in neighbouring Khammouane Province using the same approach. In practice, the company has signed written contracts with 660 contract farmers and provides 100 percent of the investment costs without collateral. Although government officials are present when contracts are signed, the GOL will not witness or otherwise acknowledge the agreement between the company and the farmers.
– The criteria applied by the company when selecting contract farmers includes the following:
– The producer has documents (a tax receipt) showing the legal right to occupy the land;
– The producer must cultivate a minimum of one hectare of cane;
– The land for cultivating sugar cane should have access to water for irrigation if necessary;
– The land can be no further than 20 km from the Mitr Lao processing factory (but in fact this criterion has been modified so that farmers as far as 50 km from the factory can be contracted); and,
– A farmer must demonstrate a commitment to producing a quality product. – Using the ‘2+3’ approach, the company provides 3,845 Thai baht (approximately
US$120) per ha of credit to each contract farmer consisting of the following: – Support for land preparation
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Zola, A. Draft Report: A Preliminary Assessment of Contract Farming Arrangements and Plantations in the
Agriculture and Natural Resources Sector of Southern Lao PDR. Asian Development Bank PPTA-4843
(LAO): Agriculture and Natural Resources Sector Needs Assessment, Phase 2: Annex: Contract Farming & Plantations. Vientiane: ADB, May 2008
MAF: Agricultural Master Plan 2015
Final Draft, 15th September 2010
ANNEX 16 – Chemical fertilizer
– Cost of labour for weeding – Other labour costs
– In addition, the company provides training to contract farmers at every stage of cane production as well as market access. The company also loans agricultural equipment to more progressive contract farmers for planting and harvesting in areas with labour shortages. The equipment is on loan to the farmers who can purchase the equipment, paying on an instalment basis.
3. The best performing contract farmers are producing 100 tons of cane per ha
compared to others who are producing only 20-30 tons (The average yield in Thailand is 50 tons per ha, which is about 20 percent lower than the average world yield; Australia has an average yield of 90 tons per ha). Mitr Lao sees the potential for achieving higher cane yields in Laos than in Thailand and is thus attracted to producing in Laos.
– Many contract farmers have experienced significant production losses due to the natural grazing of cattle and buffalo. In 2007, an estimated 10 million baht (some US$312,000) worth of cane was lost to livestock; an additional 50 ha was lost to wild fires lit by farmers burning off nearby paddy fields. In addition, yields of many contract farmers are low due to the refusal of farmers to weed the cane crops (even though funding is provided for the weeding). Farmers want to be paid an additional fee for weeding their own crops. – In 2007-2008, the company achieved only 45 percent of its target for cane production
through contract farmers. It is seeking the GOL’s assistance in the formation of producer groups, particularly in areas where cane cultivation is scattered. However, the GOL has not committed to providing the requested assistance, saying only that the farmers cannot be convinced to participate in the contract farming program.
4. As a result of the situation described above, Mitr Lao management has initiated discussions with the GOL to adopt the ‘1+4’ formula for producing the sugar cane required by their new factory. Under this method, farmers would rent out their land to the company and be paid as labourers to produce sugar cane that belongs to the company. To date, the company has signed rental contracts for 128 ha of land in Xayboury District for a period of from 10 to 12 years; at a fee of US$6.00 per ha per year.
MAF: Agricultural Master Plan 2015
Final Draft, 15th September 2010
ANNEX 17