Towards sustainable sugar cane production in south africa: a case study of the lowveld area, mpumalanga province

Sugarcane production is an economically important activity in South Africa. TSB Sugar is among the top three South African sugar milling companies and owns the 2 mills in Mpumalanga. The overall objective of the study was to analyze the joint venture/partnership model and its implications in sustainable sugarcane production as implemented by TSB Sugar in the Lowveld area. According to the participants, the company provides assistance to small sugar cane growers in that, farms of 5ha to 20ha are developed and given to them, it also provides financial assistance for them (small growers) to run their farms. . According to the findings of the study it is seen that the land claimants (the current land owners) are not versed with the operation of the partnership agreement, which leads to delays in proper implementation of the models or approach. This is a big challenge to TSB Sugar. Increased agricultural productivity is highly dependent on the status of the natural resource base and social security is also heavily dependent on how these resources are used. As the term sustainability explains itself, it is imperative for farmers to be able to farm and produce food into the foreseeable future, without reducing the options available for the future generations.