ATC210909: Special Joint Oversight Visit Report to Kwazulu-Natal: Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy, Dated 7 September 2021

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Special Joint Oversight Visit Report to Kwazulu-Natal: Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy, Dated 7 September 2021

 

1.BACKGROUND AND THE AIM OF THE VISIT

 

The country has in the second week of July 2021 experienced unprecedented levels of unrest and destruction of public and private property, coupled with violence and looting of public and private property. Despite the fact that these acts of violence started in KwaZulu–Natal (KZN) and spread to parts of Gauteng, they have a socio-economic impactthroughout the country. The unrest, which involved violent protests and looting, has had negative consequences for some farmers and agribusinesses in KZN Province. Financial losses as a result of road closures, burning of trucks and farms, damage to storage facilities and other infrastructure may have far-reaching implications for the agricultural industry, food security and sector employment.It has been reported that the violent protests amplified vulnerability and food insecurity in many communities of KZN and Gauteng Provinces.

 

It is against this background that the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Select Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy conducted aspecial joint oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal Province from 09 – 13 August 2021 to assess the impact of the unrest and destruction on the agricultural value chain and the Department’s response to the sectoral challenges.

 

The overarching aim of the oversight visit was to obtain insights into the impact of the recent unrest that took place in KZN on the agricultural and agroprocessing value chains particularly on land reform and other Government-funded farms, institutions and infrastructure; Government plans in addressing the impact of the unrest on the agricultural sector and availability of disaster assistance and its implementation as the KZN Provincial Executive has on the 29th July 2021, declared a state of disaster in the Province.

 

1.1 Objectives of the oversight

 

The objectives of the joint Portfolio and Select Committees’ oversight visit were as follows:

 

  1. Ascertain the extent to which the unrest has impacted on the agricultural and agroprocessing value chains, agrologistics and damage to relevant infrastructure.
  2. Assess the impact of the unrest on the agricultural supply chain and food availability.
  3. Assess the impact of the unrest on current and future employment in the agricultural and agroprocessing sectors.
  4. Ascertain Government’s response and plans to address the resultant impact and relevant infrastructure damage.
  5. Identify strengths and weaknesses as well as areas of complementarity amongst the different spheres of Government including implications for policy interventions.

 

2.DELEGATION

 

  1. Composition of the Delegation

 

The delegation comprised of Members of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy. The delegation was supported by different teams of Parliamentary Officials as reflected in Table 1 below. The number of project sites to be visited and their geographical location dictated that the delegation be split into two groups. Each group was equally supported by a team of Parliamentary officials responsible for secretarial, research and content advisory, communications, language interpreting and protection services. The delegation was also accompanied by the Minister, Deputy Minister and Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. 

 

  1. Parliamentary delegation during the oversight:

 

Portfolio Committee 

Select Committee

Support Officials

Designation

iNkosi ZMD Mandela (Chairperson/leader of the delegation) (ANC)

Ms MME Tlhape, (ANC)

Mr. N Capa, (ANC)

Ms KD Mahlatsi, (ANC)

 

Ms T Modise (Chairperson/leader of the delegation(NW)

Ms W Ngwenya (Gauteng)

Mr J Nyambi (Mpumalanga)

Mr B Smit (Limpopo)

Ms P Nyamza

Ms A Kakaza

Committee Secretaries

Ms C Maledu

Ms A Zindlani

Committee Assistants

Dr T Manenzhe

 

Ms N Mgxashe

Content Advisor: Land Reform & Rural Development

Content Advisor: Agriculture

Ms N Qwabe

Ms T Siyo-Pepeteka

 

Dr G Lekalakala

Researcher: Agriculture,

Researcher: Land Reform & Rural Development

Researcher: Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy

Mr N Masipa, (DA)

 

??

Language Practitioners

Mr. MK Montwedi, (EFF)

Ms S Govender

 

Communication Officer

 

iNkosi R Cebekhulu, (IFP)

??

Protection Services

 

2. Members of the Provincial Legislature in attendance:

Names

Institution

Mrs N Sibhidla-Saphetha (Chairperson)

Ms JT Gumede

                                                              

Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development,  KZN Provincial Legislature

 

The delegation was also accompanied by relevant government officials from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and KZN Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; Managers in the KZN Department of Agriculture, Project Officers and Extension Officers.

 

  1. STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT

 

This report presents an account of a four-day special oversight visit conducted by the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Select Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy in KZN from the 10th to 13th August 2021.  It documents the delegation’s engagement with presentations made during briefing sessions and observations made during project site visits where the delegation interacted with senior Department officials, farmers, business owners and other stakeholders.

4.BRIEFINGSESSION BY THE EXECUTIVE

 

On10 August 2021, the joint Committees (PC on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and SC on Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy) received briefings from theProvincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on the impact of the unrest on the agricultural sectorand from the National Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development on biosecurity and the outbreak and impact of foot-and-mouth disease(FMD) in the Province.

 

4.1 Overview by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

 

The overview by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Mrs Thoko Didiza,highlighted the impact of the unrest on the agricultural sector, which has also been grappling with diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and avian influenza. In KZN, FMD investigations could not take place during the unrest in the Mtubatuba and Ugu Districts that have been affected by FMD. There are plans to set up a multi-stakeholder Task Team to strengthen biosecurity especially the management and control of FMD.

The unrest had a significant impact on the agricultural value chain as movement of goods from producers and distribution centres was affected during the period of the unrest due to the closure of the N3; and ports could also not operate, which affected wheat and yeast distribution at the time.There was also a direct impact on some farmers such as dairy farmers that had to spill milk as it could not be collected, sugarcane farms that were burnt and sugar milling companies that had to close due to threats.

Following the unrest, the Minister and the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Agriculture in KZN, Mrs Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi held meetings with agricultural industry stakeholders and visited some affected farms. Inter-ministerial meetings were held with relevant Ministries (for example, Agriculture, Trade, Industry and Competition, Health, etc.) to devise strategies for immediate response.

 

4.2 Briefing by the KZN Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

 

The Acting Chief Director (CD) for Agricultural Services from Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Lethukuthula Jongisa, presented a high level presentation on the impact of the violent protests in the agricultural sector in the province. The presentation outlined the impact across all commodity groups, food-and-mouth disease (FMD) operations, district reports on affected farms and proposed interventions across different commodities namely: vegetable and grain commodities, livestock commodity and sugarcane commodity.

 

4.3 Briefing by the National Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural

     Development (DALRRD)

 

Thebriefing by the Chief Director from DALRRD, Mr Dipenene Serage can be summarised as follows:

 

4.3.1 Biosecurity and Risk Management

 

The Durban Port, which could not operate during the period of the unrest is the most central and convenient port for agricultural goods and approximately 80% of the meat that is consumed in the country is imported and mostly comes through the Durban Port. The hacking of Transnet ICT system also had a huge and negative impact on exports especially on citrus. The cold storage facilities were also affected, which had a negative impact on the quality and value of produce. The more time export produce has to spend at cold storage, the more chances that they will lose quality and there is also a threat of pests (e.g. citrus black spot (CBS) on citrus), which may result in rejections of those containers. The export rejections due to diseases and pests presents a phytosanitary risk to the country and also has an impact on costs, which have to be borne by the producer. The Department could account for 3 million cartons of citrus that could not be moved from the Durban Port due to the unrest. As an intervention, there were attempts to move some produce through the Gqeberha Port but unfortunately it is a small port and most of the produce is geared for the Durban Port.

 

4.3.2 Update on Foot-and-mouth Disease (FMD)

 

The new FMD outbreak in the province was detected in May 2021, which was followed by the declaration of the disease management area (DMA), namely, – Umkhanyakude, King Cetshwayo and Zululand Districts.  Surveillance measures are in place to control the movement of cloven-hoofed animals and their products to prevent the spread of FMD. The decision to vaccinate or not to vaccinate will depend on the rate of the spread of the disease.

 

5.SITE VISITS

 

From the 10 – 12 August 2021, the joint Committees conducted site visits to the uMkhanyakude, Amajuba, Ugu, eThekwini Metro, King Cetshwayo and iLembe District Municipalities.

 

5.1 eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality

 

5.1.1 Frey’s Abattoir (Cato Ridge)

 

Frey’s Abattoir is based in Cato Ridge in the eThekwini Metro,with Mr Walter Frey as a sole owner of the company. Frey’s food brand is a premium pork meat production company in South Africa that supplies the food service and retail industry such as Spar with meat, deliand other pork products.While there were no injuries to its personnel, the factory at Cato Ridge wasaffected during the unrest through extensive infrastructural damage through petrol bombing of properties and vandalisation of equipment and looting of carcasses and meat products. It was noted that the damage to the abattoir/factory was not to loot per se but to destroy the property including its equipment so that it cannot function again, which will have a negative impact to the country’s economy.

 

The facility used to process 1000 pigs a day from slaughter to processing (bacon, sausages and other pork products) but since the unrest, processing has come to a standstill as equipment has been damaged. The company now only slaughter pigs and store them as it has contracts with some of the farmers that supply pigs and also to assist farmers to get pigs off their farms when they are ready for slaughter. The estimated damage to the facility is R500 million and the company is busy with the insurance company to assess the damage on infrastructure. It is currently not making profit, which has an impact on employment sustainability for its 1 400 employees.  Due to the extensive infrastructural damage and vandalism and the subsequent inability to do processing, most employees had to be asked to stay at home and the company now operates with 60 employees. It reported that although it submitted a report and application to the Department of Employment and Labour for the Temporary Financial Relief Scheme for Destroyed, Affected or Looted Workplaces that was gazetted by the Minister of Employment and Labour, it has not received a response from the Labour Department. The Scheme is supposed to assist with the payment of employee salaries/wages; and the company was concerned about the payment of salaries for its more than 1 200 employees that have to stay at home. Numerous follow-up correspondence to the Department of Employment and Labour have not yielded a response.

 

5.1.2 Meister Cold Store (Pinetown)

 

The Meister Cold Store in Pinetown is a commercial cold storage and distribution facility within the fresh produce segment that also has quarantine capabilities with government authority cooperation. Their storage system can be used for small, medium and large applications and in a variety of different markets. The Director at Meister Cold Store, Ms D Nairansamy reported that it was tremendously impacted by the unrest, suffering significant losses due to damage to infrastructure, burning of some of the property and looting. It was the largest cold storage facility in KZN and during the unrest, has lost 22 000 tons of cold storage facility. Approximately 90% of the lost storage capacity is imported products for the manufacturing of local food products, which will impact certain food supplies. The devastation has resulted in over a 100 job losses and negatively affected family members. The company has submitted a report and a claim and is waiting for the South African Special Risk Insurance Association (SASRIA) to expedite their claim so that it can rebuild, save jobs and prevent food shortages.

The delegation was also seriously concerned that 4 weeks after the unrest, responsible authorities have not ensured a clean-up operation in the area as rotten trashed products posed a health hazard to the security personnel looking after the facility including surrounding businesses and community; and the unpleasant smell alone was quite overwhelming even before one enters the gate.

 

5.2 Ugu District Municipality (Sezela Sugar Mill and affected farms)

 

5.2.1 Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

 

The Provincial Department’s Director for Ugu District, Mrs Gwala reportedthat during the unrest, commercial and smallscale sugarcane farms in the District were affected through burning and looting in some cases. During the unrest, the Sezela Sugar Mill had to close for a week and by the time it reopened, most of the sugarcane awaiting processing had deteriorated and was not in acceptable quality for processing[1]. This resulted in some of the sugarcane being rejected and farmers suffering losses. The unplanned closure resulted in backlogs in sugarcane milling, which affected sugarcane farmers owing to the loss of cane quality while waiting for processing. The District was waiting for a decision from itsPrincipals regarding assistance for farmers. In the meantime,  smallscale farmers will be assisted with production inputs such as fertilisers that they had in storage for the food security programme.

 

5.2.2South African Sugar Association (SASA)

 

The Group Communications and Media Manager from the South African Sugar Association (SASA), Mr Cedric Mboyisa, gave an industry perspective of the impact of the unrest and looting. SASA constitutes the South African Cane Growers Association (SACGA), South African Farmers Development Association (SAFDA) and South African Sugar Millers’ Association (SASMA). More than 500 000 tons of sugarcane worth millions of rands in potential revenue were destroyed by arsonists, an act that had a negative impact on 65 000 direct jobs in the sugarcane growing sector and 1 million indirect jobs. Ten KZN sugar mills were forced to cease their operations during the unrest, two warehouses holding 12 000 tons of sugar were looted, 561 200 tons of commercial land reform and smallscale growers’sugarcane was burnt by arsonists and 40 000 tons of sugarcane at SezelaSugar Mill was unusable and had to be destroyed.The Mills associations have lost an estimated R100 million in revenue. The Association is in discussion with the Minister for a stimulus recovery package to assist the sugarcane industry.  

 

The Executive Chairperson of SAFDA, Dr Siyabonga Madlalahighlighted that the level of disaster tolerance among growers is not the same, while most smallscale growers have lost everything, commercial growers may have some sugarcane that can still be processed that will assist them to recover. He highlighted that the unrest has showed the slow pace of transformation in the sugar industry and the need for legislative review. Land reform growers are mostly operating on marginal land and transport remains the greatest cost for all smallscale growers, who mostly rely on contractors to cut and transport their sugarcane.  He further appealed to the Committees that government should prioritise and assist the smallholder growers as it is difficult for them to recover from the impact of the unrest. He emphasised that such assistance needs to be fast-tracked as growers are approaching the planting season.

 

The Regional Manager from the South African Cane Growers Association, Mr William Gillian, reported that the association had also lost sugarcane to the value of R70 million as a result of the unrest. And the affected growers are both smallscale and commercial growers. He highlighted the plight of a land reform farmer who lost all his sugarcane through arson and incurred tremendous losses in revenue.

 

5.2.3 Sezela Sugar Mill

 

The Director for Corporate Affairs for Illovo, Mr Tshepo Marumule gave a report on the impact of the unrest on Sezela Sugar Mill including on growers that supply the Mill with sugarcane. Sezela is part of Illovo Sugar, which has 3 sugar mills.All three sugar mills of Illovo Sugar South Africa and out-alcohol plants had to shut down during the unrest and export products could not leave the port. Outbound logistics were interrupted as the main arterial road networks were blocked and movement of products such as raw sugar, coal, molasses and other essential chemicals for processing came to a halt.Due to the widespread and uncontrollable arson fires, Sezela Sugar Mill was oversupplied and imposed aburn/harvest moratorium on the 11th of July 2021 and the Mill was closed for a week. The Mill restart was adversely impacted by the extent of deteriorated crushed cane and only fresh cane was able to bring crush to normal. That resulted in growers experiencing abnormal cane quality rejection criteria as only the ’freshest cane’ of a specific quantum was being considered for milling. More than 60 000 tons of sugarcane was rejected, 50% of which was from large growers and the rest from smallscale, medium scale, land reform growers and some of the company’s farms. Of the proportions accepted for milling, only 17 % were from smallscale sugarcance growers, whereas their large scale counterparts 63%of their sugarcane was accepted. This has an adverse impact on the growers’ revenue, recovery following the unrest and employment in the sector.

 

Interventions from the milling involved adjusting the sugarcane quality parameters, thus allowing more cane to be accepted.

 

The total loss to Illovo is estimated at R175 million, constituting R150 million in damages and lost opportunity due to the inability to operate and export during the unrest,  R5 million for additional security and R20 million worth of damage to sugarcane fields that were burnt and could not be crushed. Sezela Sugar Mill lost a total of R78 million inprofit in the form of 900 000 tons dumped cane, 21 million tons sugar lost and 38 million tons downstream losses. Illovo Sugar has spent in excess of R3 million combined expenditure supporting the South African Farmers Development Association (SAFDA), company employees and members of the community.

 

Lessons Learned from the Unrest

  • Create shared value,
  • Give a stake to their employees and neighbours, the mill noted that the staffdefenced the mill during the unrest,

 

5.2.4 Makhubo Sugarcane Farm

 

The farm is owned by Mr ZC Makhubo for whom the South African Sugar Research Institute compiled a farm agronomic assessment following a request by the former Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), channelled through the Sezela-Land Reform Development Committee (SLRDC). The agronomic assessment is requested to motivate grant funding for the farm. The total farm extent is 122.819 hectares (ha) of land with 81.9 ha planted sugarcane,and 40.9195ha being indigenous bush. The farm is managed by Mr Ngcebo Makhubo (youth), whose father bought the farm. Its sugarcane is delivered to the Sezela Sugar Mill for processing. The farm was also affected and the entire 81.9 ha of sugarcane (approximately 1 000 tons) was burnt during the unrest. The Provincial Department was instructed to assist the farmer with the fertiliser and other necessary production inputs in preparation for the planting season.

 

5.2.5 Idwala Sugarcane Farm (Umdoni Local Municipality)

 

The Humberdale farm, now recorded as Idwala Farm is 199 hectares (ha) in extent and is predominantly under sugarcane. It is a land reform farm owned by Mr Sipho Wiseman Njikija, who is youth. The cane is delivered to the Sezela Sugar Mill, which is approximately 15kmaway from the farm. The farm owner reported that his farm was also burnt and looted during the unrestand he lost approximately 600 tons of sugarcane which amounts to half a million rands. It was further reported that the Provincial Department has not liaised with the farmers regarding their losses or provision of assistance. Farmers were in communication more with Farmer Organisations than the Department and reported that as farmers they are in desperate need of production inputs now in August before the rain starts.  The delegation instructed the Department to assist the farmer, including Mr Makhubo, with the fertilisers and other production inputs that it has reported were available for assisting smallscale farmers.

 

  1. King Cetshwayo District Municipality

 

  1. Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

 

The Provincial Department’s Chief Director for the District, Mr Sipho Shange, reported that all local municipalities in the District were affected by the unrest. There was extensive damage to infrastructure including residential areas, burning of sugarcane farms and theft of livestock. The District had 5 000 bags of fertiliser for the one-household one-hectare (1HH 1ha) food security programme and all these have been distributed to beneficiary households. The District has submitted a Preliminary Report to the Provincial Department with details of the impact of the unrest and what is required for different commodities, not just sugarcane. Approximately R127 million will be needed by the District to assist affected farmers.

 

5.3.2Siyamdumisa Sugarcane Farm (UMlalazi Local Municipality)

 

Siyamdumisa Farm was leased from the government through the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) in 2009. The farm is a family orientated agricultural company headed by the Sibiya family with Mrs Zandile Adelaide Sibiya as the Executive Director and farm owner and her daughter, Zinzile Sibiya (youth), the Farm Manager. Mrs Sibiya, a retired teacher, mentors smallscalefarmers, is a member of the Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (WARD) and sits in the boards of a number of organisations. The farm is 192 hectares (ha)in extent and 127.37 ha are under sugarcane. The farm was originally producing sugarcane and grapefruit for an international market. Although cane is still the main source of profit, 50 hectares of grapefruit were later removed due to loss of the market, which had a business relationship with the previous farm owner. The Department classified Mrs Sibiya as a smallholder farmer graduating to commercial. The farm hosts a number of interns each year to broaden their skills. Two of the students are starting a chicken/poultry business and have leased space from the farm.

 

During the unrest, 21.24 ha of sugarcane were burnt, which resulted in a loss of approximately R200 000 in revenue. Of the burnt sugarcane, 10.32 ha was not ready for harvest and therefore had to be dumped. The sugarcane burnt during the unrest produced a total of 1050 tons which was cut by 10 cane cutters (seasonal workers). During the visit, field maintenance was underway with 12 field workers, 6 of whom are permanent and an additional 6 were recently hired after the fire to speed up work and ensure that salvaged burnt cane gets to the Amatikhulu Mill as quickly as possible.

 

The farmer reported that following the unrest, herbicide prices increased significantly with Roundup increasing from R900 to R1 500, which further had a negative impact on the recovery and sustainability of smallscale farmers. The farm needed some assistance with production inputs (herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers)for the upcomingcane growing season.

 

5.3.3Zone H and meeting with a group of smallholder sugarcane growers (Gingindlovu)

 

The delegation visited Zone H in the Gingindlovu area, where burnt and damaged sugarcane that is not good for milling is dumped. Whilst there, it also met with a group of smallscale sugarcane growers, who wanted to raise some of their concerns. The concerns centred around struggles with competing with large scale commercial growers. The farmers reported that some of the sugarcane from smallscale growers is rejected by the Mills in favour of cane from commercial farmers. The farmers reported that they have been appealing to no avail for the prioritisation of their sugarcane for milling, which is normally ready by July to August, in order to level the playing field and ensure fair competition in the industry. 

 

5.3.4 The Chase Farms

 

The Chase farms, owned by Mr JG Chennells,  are made up of a number of subdivisions on the outskirts of Eshowe; growing sugarcane, bananas and flowers. The farms have been in the Chennells family for over hundred years and they have built up a strong and healthy relationship with the neighbouring communitiesover many years. The recent violent unrest has affected the whole communities of Eshowe and KwaKhoza.The farm has 620 ha of sugarcane in Eshowe and during the unrest it was subjected to 41 different incidents of arson on various routes through the farms and along the main roads into the Eshowe town as looters ran to and from the town through the farm in an unnatural and terrifying anger, which caused fear and trauma on the farm owners and employees, some of whom were threatened. Mr Chennells reported that there was no assistance from the South African Police Service (SAPS) or any government department during the unrest. Farmers and the community had to help each other.

 

Mills were closed for weeks and farmers could not deliver sugarcane, which resulted in revenue losses. During the unrest, out of the 620 ha under sugarcane on the farm, 81 ha were burnt and 5205 tons of sugarcane salvaged, with the estimated loss on underage cane approximately 1850 tons with a value of R1.15 million.  Estimated loss on milling delays was about R268 736 as the burnt cane took on average of 11 days to be milled instead of the normal 52 hours resulting in a substantial decrease in cane quality and thus, revenue loss.

 

Approximately 75 ha of the farm is under bananas and following the unrest, large volumes of bananas could not be sold and were discarded as shops, local trading stores and hawkers were closed. The total loss in banana revenue amountedto R109 350. Flowers were also thrown away as they were too old for harvesting as the closure of roads resulted in flowers ready for transportation to the airport for the international market being discarded. Some staff on sugarcane, bananas and flowers were intimidated to stop working for a number of days resulting in loss of earnings for them. However, none of the employees will lose their jobs.

 

The farmer also raised a serious concern with the delegation about the land reform programme beneficiary allocation. He reported that 8 years ago, he handed over to the Department a 160 ha farm next to his property for land redistribution. The Department allocated the farm to someone who knew nothing and was not interested in farming. The farm has never been fully operational since, it currently has nothing and even infrastructure has since been vandalised and destroyed. 

 

  1. iLembe District Municipality

 

  1. Gledhow Sugar Mill

 

The Gledhow Sugar Company is reportedly the most transformed sugar milling company with a B-BBEE level 1 status, multi-stakeholder ownership that is 61% black owned and with 59% of its sugarcane coming from black growers. Gledhow shareholding constitutes 34.9%  UShukela Milling, 10% Sappi Pulp & Paper, 30% Illovo Sugar South Africa and 25.1% Gledhow Growers Share Trust. The company’s General Manager, Mr Andrew Francis,reported that the company incurred loss of profits ranging from R8.4 to R10.5 million due to the unrest as the Mill was also closed for 6 days during that period. The total burnt cane stock during riots was 95 100 tons and total cane rejected, 5 500 tons.In addition to losses due to burnt cane, the company also incurred additional security costs. The company has given the farmers one-month loan payment holiday to adjust due to the unrest and has extended July deliveries by a week on request from growers.

 

  1. Comments from Farmer Organisations

 

Mr Mashile from the SA Canegrowers Association applauded developments at Gledhow Mill and highlighted that total revenue loss to growers in iLembe District amounted to R163 million and included smallscale, land reform and commercial growers.

Dr Madlala from SAFDA also applauded Gledhow Mill for its progressive initiatives especially grower representation in the company ownership and further emphasised the prioritisation of smallscale and land reform farmers.

 

6.COMMITTEEOBSERVATIONS

 

The Committees’ delegation made the following observations during the oversight visit:

 

  1. Lack of urgency on the part of the Provincial Department as 4 weeks after the unrest, Districts reported that they have submitted reports of the impact of the unrest including required interventions to the Provincial Department, which has highlighted budgetary constraints despite the declaration of the State of Disaster in the Province on 29 July 2021.

 

  1. The slow pace of interventions and lack of liaison and direct communication with affected farmers by Districts while they are awaiting decisions from their principals.

 

  1. Appreciation for the iLembe District that has timeously distributed all the available production inputs to the intended households for the 1HH1Ha food security programme; while it also submitted a report to the Province with a specific figure of how much the District will need to assist affected farmers across all commodities.

 

  1. With the exception of Gledhow Sugar Mill, minimal or no specific role is played by the other Sugar Milling companies in assisting smallscale growers for the coming planting seasons while they are waiting for government intervention. In addition, no other avenueshave been explored by Mills on the use of sugarcane whose quality has deteriorated for processing in order to assist smallscale growers.

 

  1. In light of the significant losses and damage to critical infrastructure, there is a lack of action plans with timelines on how the Provincial Department with assistance from the National Department, will source funding to assist the sector particularly smallscale farmers to recover from the impact of the unrest.

 

  1. There is no eminent role that is played by the Departmentin addressing the slow pace of transformation in the sugar milling sector as current laws and policies are said to favour large growers; and sugarcane from commercial growers is reportedly prioritised over that from smallscale growers. 

 

  1. The negative impact of the unrest on food security and employment in the agricultural and agroprocessing sectors as some of the small to medium agribusinesses and farms may take a while to recover while some may not recover.

 

  1. Despite the continuous challenges in the sector, particularly in land reform farms, youth and women involvement was commended.  

 

  1. Lack of intergovernmental relations as throughout the site visits, there was no indication of the role of, or collaboration with, local government in respect of intervention measures to assist affected farms and agribusinesses.

 

  1. Lack of Public-private partnership in addressing challenges, and fast-tracking provision of much needed inputs (for example, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides) to the farmers, as part of recovery from the impacts of the unrest. 

 

7.COMMITTEES’RECOMMENDATIONS

 

The Committees make the following recommendations to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development:

 

  1. Ensure that the KZN Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development makes use of the opportunity that is availed by the declaration of the State of Disaster in the Province to make budgetary adjustments in order to fast-track assistance to affected farmers in the Province particularly smallholder farmers including those that have been visited by the delegation namely, Makhubo, Idwala and Siyamdumisa farms.

 

  1. Ensure that the KZN Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development develops an Action Plan with specific details and timelines on how affected farmers will be assisted in the immediate term and in the future to save livelihoods and prevent further job losses. 

 

  1. Engage with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition to address the slow pace of transformation and required legislative review in the sugarcane and sugar milling sectors including discussions on the implementation of the Sugar Master Plan that is meant to address some of the challenges.

 

  1. Investigate the plight of the 160 ha farm that was handed over to the former DRDLR for land redistribution by Chase Farms in 2013 near Eshowe in King Cetshwayo District Municipality and submit a report to Parliament.

 

  1. Trainingand support of smallscale sugarcane farmers in improving their sugarcane quality, while on farm through optimum field and water managementpractices, to increase chance of acceptance for milling[2]..

 

  1. Increase allocation and flexibility of delivery of sugarcane is needed for smallscale sugarcane growers. Smallscale farmers should be educated on the benefits of creating a joint cooperative for delivery to the mill, of which can be important in reducing cost of inputs through bulk-buying and field management operations, and reduce the reliance of contractors for harvesting and transportation.
  2. Explore other value adding of sugarcane, apart from sugar production, to enable for cane that doesn’t meet milling quality to be used for production of other products, such asfertilizer production, animal feed, etc.[3]

 

8.References

Srivastava, R.P., Siddhant and Sharma, M.L. 2009. Studies on minimizing quality and quantity losses in stale cane. J. Sugar Tech. 11 (2): 176-180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-009-0027-3

 

Response to the above recommendations should be submitted to Parliament two weeks after the adoption of this Report by the NA and NCOP.

 

 

Report to be considered.

 


[1] Sugarcane deterioration was to be due to the delay in crushing, wherein “after 24 hours significant losses occur due to loss of moisture and low percentage of sucrose in juice” (Solomon, 2009)

[2] Some of the smallscale farmers sugarcane is rejected on-farm by the harvesting contractor as it doesn’t meet the requirements for milling

[3] This will ensure that smallscale sugarcane farmers who are unable to deliver to the sugarmill can recover their operational costs through other industries

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