Work Program - Nkomazi - Small Scale Grower Sustainability Programme

Funders
Tsb Sugar in conjunction with the Business Trust through the Shared Growth Challenge Fund and the Sugar Association Small Grower Development Fund

 

Description
A total of 1 200 small scale farmers are involved in sugar farming on over 10 000 hectares of irrigated sugar on 36 individual projects, supplying the Komati and Malelane sugar mills. Yields from these growers have been declining over time and they have requested assistance from Tsb Sugar with dealing with issues of long-term sustainability. Lima has three facilitators and two agricultural professionals providing a range of institutional change and support mechanisms to growers and their associations. Participatory planning workshops are held with farmers to find solutions and getting growers own the change process. Remedial actions have included reconstitution of farmers associations, improving accountability, governance and reducing "free riding". Institutional changes include the introduction of a formal land rental model, consolidation and joint management of individual farming units, as well as improving the management of communal irrigation infrastructure. The consolidated projects have required detailed business planning and in some cases additional grant funding has been raised to set up the new projects.

Impact
Over a 1 000 farmers are involved who, together with their farm workers and families would stand to benefit directly. Small grower yield improvements have the potential of generating an additional R 120 million into the local economy annually.

Area Of Implementation

In the Nkomazi Local Municipality of Eastern Mpumalanga .