Sweet news for sugarcane farmers

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, said the government is committed to ensuring that the more than 24 000 black small-scale sugarcane farmers remain an integral part of the multi-billion-rand sugar industry.

The industry is the bedrock of rural economies in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Minister Steenhuisen met with a number of small-scale growers and the sugar industry leadership at KwaShukela in Mount Edgecombe, north of Durban last Friday (February 21) to determine how the department could assist the farmers.

“The sustainability of the small-scale sugarcane farmers must remain one of the main priorities for both government and the industry. I am passionate about the cause of small-scale farmers to ensure their growth and success. They are part of the agriculture family, and we regard them as very important stakeholders in agriculture,” said the Minister.

The leadership of the sugar industry at the meeting was led by the South African Sugar Association (SASA), the South African Farmers Development Association, SA Canegrowers and South African Sugar Millers’ Association. SASA has been at the forefront of the efforts aimed at securing the sustainability of the small-scale sugarcane farmers (SSGs).

“The dire situation of SSGs necessitated a decisive intervention by SASA and industry leaders, hence the installation of the billion-rand empowerment plan. An average of 13 349 SSGs per season have benefited from the Transformation Intervention Fund since the 2019/2020 season,” Minister Steenhuisen said.

He added that SASA has spent R1.09 billion on empowerment interventions/initiatives, especially for the benefit of black small-scale growers. Of the R1.09 billion, SSGs received R700.55 million (64.27%), black large-scale growers (LSGs) received R254.47 million (25.22%) and the value of other interventions for black beneficiaries amounted to R137.88 million (12.64%).

The extension of empowerment funding (R238.9 million for the current season) will continue to have a positive impact on SSGs and black growers in general. Two major categories of interventions exist – cane delivery-based and non-delivery-based interventions.

“The condition for receiving this cane delivery-based grant funding is for growers to be active farmers who deliver sugarcane,” said Minister Steenhuisen. “Besides the cane delivery-based grant funding to black growers, further funding examples include the R46.5 million infrastructure rehabilitation project in the Nkomazi region, Mpumalanga. This has greatly benefited SSGs and led to 300 hectares of cane being established. The R3.3 million SSG-driven rail siding initiative in Mkhuze, KZN (making it possible for 70 000 tons of SSG cane to be transported to the Felixton Mill for the Makhathini-based growers at a significantly lower transport cost) and the installation of a dummy spiller (R7.6 million) at the Gledhow Sugar Mill for cane delivery by SSGs, which has reduced SSG hauler turnaround times and transport costs.”

Phase One of the Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan to 2030 has cemented the foundational role of SSGs. A minimum of R60 million of the Premium Price Payment (PPP) to SSGs as part of the Master Plan, for a period of three seasons (2021/2022 to 2023/2024), was allocated, escalating annually to R68 051 340 in the 2023/2024 season.

The 2023/2024 season was the last year of the PPP. However, on March 20, 2024, SASA Council approved the extension of PPP to 2024/2025 with an inflationary adjustment, meaning the allocation for this season is R71.08 million.

Through the Master Plan processes, the industry has been able to pinpoint challenges or factors which impede the envisaged growth of SSGs through surveys that engaged more than 2 500 growers. Some of these factors include access to land and capital.

“There are limited opportunities for individual small-scale growers to expand their area under cane due to the lack of access to land and the dispersed distribution of cane farms in the deep rural areas of KZN and Mpumalanga. SASA is focused on ensuring that the lack of economies of scale, long transport distances and high contractor costs, are mitigated by the grants and other support to small-scale growers,” the Minister said.

He added that the long-term strategy is to ensure that small-scale growers remain in cane farming and are sustainable with improved productivity in the short-term while medium to long-term interventions are being developed.

“The industry is now working on putting together an intervention plan for the improving the livelihoods of SSGs across the industry. This forms part of Phase Two of the Master Plan, which is yet to be signed and implemented, with Phase One having expired on March 31, 2023,” said Steenhuisen.