R640m project to boost emerging sugarcane farming community
A R640 million investment is being made into the sugarcane industry to help give emerging small scale farmers a leg up.
It's part of a project that will rollout over the next five years.
Chairperson of South African Cane Growers, Rex Talmage says it's to support the development of small-scale black growers - who make up more than half of their members and to ensure greater transformation in the industry.
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He says growers in KwaZulu-Natal areas including Pongola, Umfolozi, Amatikulu, and Umzimkhulu stand to benefit.
"There are two components to it, first off there'll be a preferential pricing mechanism for small scale black growers and the second will be training and it will be provided in various forms."
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Talmage says the future of the sugarcane industry continues to be under threat - with the COVID-19 pandemic putting even more livelihoods at risk.
