Preparations are underway for this year’s sugar cane harvest to commence by mid-February, with some stakeholders predicting that the 2023 output will be sweeter than last year’s.Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir told Barbados TODAY in an interview on Monday that every effort was being made to start this year’s harvest early.And the island’s 12 private cane farmers are confident they will improve their yields this year and produce about 30 per cent more cane that they did last year.Weir said based on reports from management at the island’s lone operating sugar factory, Portvale, the equipment needed to repair machinery at the Blower’s, St James facility was on hand and there should be no delays.“We have gone ahead and ordered all of the replacement parts for the boilers, those tubes have been installed and the factory is good to go for mid-February. So trials will be done this month to ensure that the factory is ready and able to withstand the pressures of persistent grinding,” Weir said.