During February – March 2026 the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) convened six Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) workshops in various regions of the industry.
| Region | Date | Venue |
| South Coast | 5 February | Paddock Farmers Club |
| Midlands | 10 February | Noodsberg Country Club |
| North Coast | 12 February | Umhlali Country Club |
| Mpumalanga | 17 February | Malelane Golf Club |
| Zululand | 24 February | Mimosa Court (Empangeni) |
| Pongola | 3 March | Agrihub Hall |
These workshops were attended by sugarcane growers and other industry stakeholders.
The purpose of the workshop in each region was the following:
- To provide workshop participants with concise feedback reports on RD&E topics that were received from the region during 2024/2025 (published in the 2025 RD&E Communiqués Booklet.
- To introduce workshop participants to new research projects of relevance to the region.
- To table new RD&E topics that have been received from the region at grower days and other meetings since the last workshop.
- For workshop participants to table further RD&E topics requiring SASRI’s attention.
- For workshop participants to suggest research themes that must be considered as part of SASRI 5-year strategic plan development.
Each workshop was opened by the SASRI Director, Dr Shadrack Moephuli, whereafter the SASRI Research Manager, Dr Riekert van Heerden, presented a summary of the RD&E topics that were received from the region during 2024/2025. This was followed by feedback reports on some of the RD&E topics by various SASRI specialists. The feedback reports provided participants with an understanding of how SASRI addressed the RD&E topics, and how some of the topics influenced the development of new projects. The research programme managers then introduced the new projects of relevance to the region that are scheduled to start in April 2026. The rest of the workshop was dedicated to the collation of new RD&E topics that require SASRI’s attention. Dr Moephuli concluded each workshop with a session where he engaged with workshop participants on research themes that must be considered as part of SASRI 5-year strategic plan development.
The workshops were well attended and allowed effective information sharing between SASRI specialists and the growers and other stakeholders in each region. The collation of new RD&E topics from the regions will guide the development of the SASRI work programme for 2026/2027.
