Entry Paths into the South African Sugar Industry:

Implications for Emerging Farmer Capacity Development

and the need for Extension Services

Presenter by: Royal MabeSchool of Agricultural Science & Agribusiness, University

of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Overview

• Introduction

- Background• Objectives of the study• Entry paths into farming• Mentorship in the South African Sugar Industry• Results• Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction• Reconstruction and Development policy initiatives in South

Africa (SA) post 1994

- Land reform, AgriBEE, Employment Equity, Affirmative Action

• Land reform one of the landmark policies

- The mandate of SA’s land reform program- Land redistribution has lead to the emergence of inexperienced black farmers from diverse backgrounds; and hence

- More demand for extension, pre and post-settlement support services

Objectives of the study

• Report on some socioeconomic characteristics of the surveyed emerging black sugarcane growers,

• Identify the entry paths of the surveyed emerging black sugarcane growers into farming, and

• Make recommendations on how emerging farmer capacity development could be enhanced through mentorship and extension.

Entry Paths into Farming

• According to Reeve and Stayner (2006), transition paths into farming are of three-fold (See Figure 1):

- The Common Entry Path: with both farming experience and agricultural educational background and manages family or own farm;

- The Less Common Entry Path: with both farming experience and agricultural educational and manages family, own farm or employed as a manager; and

- The Rare Entry Path: with agricultural education and with or without farming experience and manages own farm or employed as a manager.

Figure 1: Entry Paths into Farming

Farming Non Farming Non Farming Non Farming Non Farming Farming Farming Farming Common entry path Less common entry path Rare entry path

FROM Full-time Education

Post Full-time Education

EDUCATION

BACKGROUND

Agricultural Non-Agricultural Agricultural Non-Agricultural

To Family farm Own farm Manager

Mentorship in the South African Sugar Industry

• First formal mentorship was rolled-out from October 2003 to May 2005 by the SA Canegrowers’ Association (SACGA)

• Programme involved mentoring and training

-Training consisted of 21 modules taught between 15 and 18 months

• SACGA ran second formal mentorship from June 2008 to June 2009

- This study focuses on the 2008/09 programme

Definition and Purpose of Mentorship

• KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs (KZNDAEA) definition of mentorship

- A relationship between an experienced farmer/commodity partner and an inexperienced farmer

• Purpose of mentorship- Equip emerging farmers with vital skills needed to

successfully engage in commercial agriculture,- Enhance post-settlement services and complement

extension services, and- Promote sustainable land reform

Results

• The majority (81.4%) of surveyed growers were male and 18.6% were female

• Growers were on average aged 51.51 years (the youngest and the oldest aged 26 and 72 years, respectively)

• On average, the growers participated in mentorship for 6.29 months (with a minimum and maximum of 1.83 and 8.52 months)

• 19% and 9% of surveyed growers respectively had agriculture and business-related educational background

Results Conti…• About 49% and 63% of the sample growers respectively

had prior experience in marketing and financial management; where as

• 70% of the sample growers had experience in general management.

• Nearly 9% and19% of the surveyed growers acquired their managerial skills by managing sugarcane farms and through formal training, respectively.

• Growers viewed mentorship and extension as important sources of skills in sugarcane agronomic aspects; where as

• Accountants and formal training were viewed as important sources of skills in financial management; and

• Own experience was viewed as important source of skills in labour management and transport to the sugar mill.

Conclusions and Recommendations

• The surveyed growers were mostly male and relatively old and,

- The majority of the growers had no educational background in agriculture and business-related educational background

- The majority of the growers had prior experience in general management but less experience in managing sugarcane farms (i.e. rare entry path)

• Policy makers should therefore, design and implement mentorship and other support services that address the needs of farmers from diverse backgrounds

Conclusions and Recommendations

• Mentorship and extension viewed as an important sources of skills in sugarcane agronomic or technical aspects

- Mentorship should therefore, not replace extension, but should rather complement it.

• Accountants and formal training were viewed as important sources of skills in financial management

• Own experience was viewed as important source of skills in labour management and transport to the sugar mill

- Policy makers should therefore, do a detailed needs analysis before implementing any mentorship program.

THANK YOUThis research was funded by the Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA) and the South African National Research Foundation (SANRF). Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of BCA and SANFR.