In Its Own Sweet Time

Sprouting with possibilities but marred by uncertainties, South Africa’s sugar sector has seen rough patches over the past few years. But the industry has growth prospects and is pushingnfor sustainability and innovation.

- Nicole Pillay

From civil unrest and flooding along South Africa’s coast to load shedding and the macroeconomic politics at play, the country’s sugarcane farmers have experienced an increasingly turbulent period over

the past several years. For many, including sugarcane grower, Lindiwe ‘Lee’ Hlubi, or

Mama Lee as she is known, the unrest in July 2021 that reportedly saw more than R50 billion (approximately $3.2 billion at the time of reporting) “wiped off the economy”, was especially difficult.

“With the weather that we’ve been having, my soils have really degraded. You’ll be surprised to know that I’m down to less than 1,000 tons of cane, because I was also affected by the looting [during the civil unrest]. Seventeen hectares of my cane were burned down to ashes. I had started with diversification – I had animals in my farm, but they killed my pigs because they tried to steal them,” she tells FORBES AFRICA.

“Then the following year – 2022 – we were hit by torrential rains. My farm was badly affected, roads were damaged, dams got damaged, so my infrastructure has literally been depleted.”

After acquiring the farm – located in the town of Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) – in 2007, Hlubi says her start in sugarcane farming wasn’t the easiest as she had to commence many processes from scratch, processes which the previous farmer-owner had not followed, as well as purchase the necessary products and materials. She adds that this isn’t always the case, but it was for her.