Empowering sustainable small-scale sugarcane farming
SASRI collaborates with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) under the Extension Venture Agreement (EVA). This partnership is dedicated to promoting sustainable sugarcane farming by developing growers’ skills, encouraging Best Management Practices, and delivering expert advice and relevant technologies. EVA’s mission is to empower rural communities to achieve sustainable, profitable farming.
One of EVA’s priorities is to conduct small-scale grower (SSG) and land-reform grower (LRG) Modular Courses in each mill area, focusing on different themes each year based on grower needs and feedback. For 2024, the theme was “Ensuring Good Ratoonability.” From August 13 to September 19, SASRI SSG/LRG extension team and DARD extension personnel engaged with over 650 growers across various communities in the sugar belt, sharing knowledge and practical advice on topics like variety selection, seedcane, planting, weed control, soil nutrition, and cane quality.
By bringing the EVA programme directly to rural communities, using local halls as venues, more growers can participate in and benefit from the resources shared. DARD’s Agricultural Advisors Lungisile Mkhungo, Sindisiwa Nzimande, Gugu Mnyandu, Bheki Mathe and Goodenough Mdunge, played a crucial role in planning and facilitating these sessions, and participated in presentations in several communities.
The SSG/LRG Modular Courses have become an essential platform for keeping growers informed about advancements, new techniques, and industry updates. These sessions ensure continuous communication between growers and stakeholders, enabling even the most remote growers to access SASRI research, and to contribute to shaping the following year’s theme. We look forward to welcoming more growers next year.
For information on upcoming sessions in your area, please contact your local Extension Officer or the SASRI Agricultural Liaison Officer at 071 850 7292 / 031 508 7511.
Table 1: The different Mill areas where the 2024 Modular courses were held with the number of attendees.
