Over 24 000 small-scale sugarcane growers in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal anchor rural economies amidst rising costs and environmental challenges, writes Higgins Mdluli, chairman of SA Canegrowers. Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen’s recent pledge for targeted support ensures their sustainability and growth in a transforming agricultural landscape.
Without small-scale sugarcane growers, the South African sugar industry would not be able to survive.
Of the just over 25 000 sugarcane growers in the country, more than 24 000 are small-scale growers. These growers help keep the rural economies of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal alive.
In his recent budget speech, agriculture minister John Steenhuisen committed to supporting small-scale and new farmers in South Africa on their quest to be self-sustainable and productive “as quickly as possible.”
He said that “funding will only flow to provinces with proper planning and accountability and payments will be made quarterly contingent on proper reporting against targets”.
Sugarcane growers critical to economy
SA Canegrowers represents all types of growers, from large commercial growers to small-scale growers and agrees on the need for funding that is targeted and makes a measurable impact.
The board of SA Canegrowers is democratically elected from its growers, making it a unique industry association and that has always prioritised support for small-scale growers.
Small-scale growers vary from small commercial farms to growers who farm small plots of land with the aim of keeping a family and community alive.
Some have been growing sugarcane for three or four generations on the same land. What unites these growers is that they are critical to the rural economies of KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Mpumalanga. Small-scale growers anchor these rural communities with income and employment.
It is no secret that small-scale growers face unique challenges, and the industry has been grappling with this for years.
Growing on smaller plots means that growers operate on tighter margins and higher costs, and any price shocks or external pressures have outsized effects on their livelihoods. This makes the best use of transformation funding to develop long-term sustainability, even more essential
In the past few years, farmers in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga have had to deal with catastrophic floods, fires, and social unrest and arson. This is over and above normal threats to their crops such as animal incursions. Such events can devastate the yield of small-scale growers.
Since 2022, there has also been a marked increase in input costs amidst global price pressures, such as fertiliser.
In areas where sugarcane is under irrigation, small-scale growers are faced with the twin risks of rising cost of electricity, and lower yields due to the inability to irrigate during periods of load shedding. Such inflationary shocks are a worry to all farmers, but small-scale growers are often not able to absorb such price shocks.
Renewed funding initiatives
The sugar industry is aware of the scale of this challenge. In 2019, the industry committed to a transformation plan to assist growers. As part of this plan, over R1 billion was paid to developmental growers over five years, administered by the SA Sugar Association (SASA), a statutory body that regulates the industry.
According to SASA figures, over the five years R592 million was paid to small-scale black growers and R281 million to commercial black growers. Growers could use these funds as they wished based on individual needs or to invest in their operations, and to buy much needed inputs such as seedcane or fertiliser.
The initial plan came to an end in 2023/24 season, but in this current season (2024/25) the industry associations who approve a contribution to this fund, including SA Canegrowers, committed to a renewal of transformation funding for another year.
The funding for 2024/25 will, as in the past, mostly be allocated to directly finance developmental or small-scale growers to use as they require.
A further portion of the funds will be used to finance regional projects, in order to improve the long-term sustainability of growers.
Regional projects can address the development needs of small-scale growers in two ways. A regional approach can address the collective challenges that many small-scale growers in the same area might share.
And different regions under sugarcane production might require different solutions, for example irrigation. Growers in northern KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga require irrigation infrastructure, as they cannot solely rely on rainfall. This is not the case for growers in southern growing areas.
Similarly, access to sugarcane seed, called seedcane, can be addressed through region-specific interventions. Different varieties of seedcane will flourish in different climates and investing in the right seedcane can dramatically increase yields.
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Strategic investments for sustainable growth
SA Canegrowers believes that with such targeted, cooperative interventions, the productivity of small-scale growers can be increased dramatically with the potential to increase yields by as much as 30%.
Improved yields will lead to more sustainable growers who are less reliant on funding to survive and will be less susceptible to price shocks.
For the industry to thrive, we have to spend our funds in ways that bring the maximum benefit to small-scale growers and the industry. Project proposals can be vetted by all the associations that make up the sugar industry via SASA.
Similarly, only projects that meet certain criteria should be funded: they should have measurable impact in a region, and all small-scale growers who choose so should have equal access to the benefits. Projects should also report back to SASA on how the funds were spent, and account against project plans.
By doing so, we can enact a long-term plan for a sustainable sugar industry. And central to the long-term plan for the sugar industry is the sustainability of small-scale growers and the rural economy.
We agree with the new minister of agriculture that there is a lot of untapped potential in South Africa’s agricultural sector, and to unlock that potential, we need to build together with the eye on creating self-sustaining farmers, big and small.
- Higgins Mdluli is the chairman of SA Canegrowers. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Food For Mzans
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