The South African Farmers Development Association (Safda), a small-scale farmers representative body based in KwaZulu-Natal, says the insistent destructive weather has further pushed small players in the sugarcane sector away.
A devastating tornado tore through parts of the province this week destroying property, infrastructure and sugarcane fields.
“We are currently quantifying the extent of the damage from the recent tornado that hit several parts of KZN. But with every natural disaster which our province has been prone to, the impact is severely felt by small-scale sugarcane farmers. This happens while the farmers have not recovered from the July 2021 riots, when thousands of tons of cane were destroyed through targeted arson attacks,” lamented Safda chairperson Dr Siyabonga Madlala.
Small-scale farmers are usually land reform beneficiaries who are still finding their feet in the industry. The KZN sugar cane industry, the biggest in the country employs an estimated 70 000 people directly and 270 000 workers indirectly.
“Thousands of jobs have already been lost in the sector and we are counting. This means rural communities who rely on sugarcane as a form of employment have been driven out of work,” he said.
Madlala bemoaned the introduction of the sugar tax by the National Treasury in 2018, saying it shrunk the local market demand by more than 20%, reducing jobs in the industry.
“The introduction of the sugar tax has added salt to injury in terms of the challenges faced by small growers. The health promotion levy has had a devastating effect on the sugar demand, leading to a sizeable reduction in sugar industry related jobs,” said Madlala.
He pointed out that smallholders were also battling input costs such as fuel, increase in the national minimum wage, sugar cane theft and other costs.
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