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A Framework for Expanding and Harmonising Sugar Industries within Africa

Received: 27 July 2023    Accepted: 24 August 2023    Published: 6 September 2023
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Abstract

African agriculture can be expected to expand over the next few decades, in line with population growth. The production of staple foods, including sugar, is expected to rise substantially to meet the needs of more than a quarter of the world’s population that is expected to live on the continent by 2050. Africa currently produces 6.5% of the world’s sugar, with most of this being supplied by six countries with established sugar industries. Natural trade barriers and slow progress with free trade agreements are likely to keep intra-continental trade relatively low over the next decade. Yet opportunities exist to expand sugar industries to serve local and regional markets. An overview of current sugar production, and the policies adopted by the six largest producers, provides lessons for the future expansion of smaller operations in many of the 35 African countries that currently produce sugar. The study assesses the policies adopted by the countries with large-scale production to create a framework for the expansion of smaller, regional sugar industries. The eight policies recommended cover tariffs, regional economic communities, price-setting intermediaries, guaranteed higher domestic prices for small-scale growers, contracting outgrower suppliers, partnerships with research institutes, the promotion of responsible farming practices, and the formation of a stakeholder committee. Appropriate policies, combined with an opening of regional markets, will enable continued growth of African sugar production to meet the needs of a growing consumer base.

Published in World Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology (Volume 1, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12
Page(s) 45-53
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sugar, Africa, Sugarcane, Policy, Industrialisation, Agriculture, AfCFTA, Trade

References
[1] African Union (2022) Regional Economic Communities. Available at: https://au.int/en/organs/recs (Accessed: 6 August 2022).
[2] Cosumar (2019) Annual report. Available at: https://www.cosumar.co.ma (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[3] ESA (2022) Eswatini Sugar Association. Available at: http://www.esa.co.sz/#about (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[4] FAO (2022) Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets. Rome. Available at: https://www.fao.org/3/cb9427en/cb9427en.pdf (Accessed: 1 December 2022).
[5] FAO (2023) FAOSTAT – Food and Agriculture Data. Available at: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/ (Accessed: 3 May 2023).
[6] FIMASUCRE (2022) Fédération Interprofessionnelle Marocaine du Sucre. Available at: http:// www.fimasucre.ma / (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[7] Kakira Sugar Limited (2023) Kakira Sugar Works Limited. Available at: https://kakirasugar.com (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[8] Kadwa, M. (2018, September 5) Cane payment in the SA Sugar Industry explained. Shukela Sugar Magazine. https://shukela.co.za/2018/09/05/cane-payment-in-the-sa-sugar-industry-explained/ Block media Ballito.
[9] KALRO, (2022) Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation – Sugar Research Institute. Available at: kalro.org (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[10] KSA (2022) Kenya Sugar Authority Available at: https://sugar.agricultureauthority.go.ke (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[11] Licht, F. (2021) World sugar deficit shrinks to 1.7 million tonnes in 2020/21. International Sugar Journal World Sugar Yearbook 2021, p. 1-12.
[12] Makgopa, M. and Woody, K. (2022) South Africa Sugar Annual Report 2022. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report.
[13] Martiniello, G., Owor, A., Bahati, I., & Branch, A. (2022). The fragmented politics of sugarcane contract farming in Uganda. Journal of Agrarian Change, 22 (1), 77-96.
[14] OECD/FAO (2022), OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f1b0b29c-en.
[15] Omar, S., and Akingbe, O. (2021) Egypt Sugar Annual Report 2021. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report.
[16] Oxford Business Group, (2021) Sugar in Africa Focus Report. The Oxford Business Group and International Sugar Organisation.
[17] SASA (2020) South African Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan to 2030. Available at: https://sasa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SA-Sugar-Master-Plan-1.pdf (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[18] SASRI, (2022) South African Sugarcane Research Institute. Available at: https://sasri.org.za/ (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[19] SCRI (2022) Sugar Crops Research Institute. Available at: http://www.arc.sci.eg (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[20] Sikuka, W. (2021) Eswatini Sugar Annual Report 2021. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report.
[21] Snyder, M. and Gitonga, K. (2022) Kenya Sugar Annual Report 2022. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) Report.
[22] SOMDIAA (2022) Modern and Sustainable Farming. Available at: https://www.somdiaa.com/en/our-activities/sugar-production/ (Accessed: 15 December 2022).
[23] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019, Online Edition. Rev. 1.
[24] World Bank, (2020a) The African Continental Free Trade Area: Economic and Distributional Effects. The World Bank.
[25] World Bank (2020b) World Bank Open Data. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org (Accessed: 5 May 2022).
[26] World Bank (2020c) Doing Business. Available at: https://doingbusiness.org (Accessed: 11 December 2022).
[27] WTO, ITC and UNCTAD (2022) World Tariff Profiles 2021. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/tariff_profiles21_e.pdf (Accessed: 11 December 2022).
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  • APA Style

    Luke Muller, Mbongeni Ndlovu. (2023). A Framework for Expanding and Harmonising Sugar Industries within Africa. World Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 1(3), 45-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12

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    ACS Style

    Luke Muller; Mbongeni Ndlovu. A Framework for Expanding and Harmonising Sugar Industries within Africa. World J. Agric. Sci. Technol. 2023, 1(3), 45-53. doi: 10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12

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    AMA Style

    Luke Muller, Mbongeni Ndlovu. A Framework for Expanding and Harmonising Sugar Industries within Africa. World J Agric Sci Technol. 2023;1(3):45-53. doi: 10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12,
      author = {Luke Muller and Mbongeni Ndlovu},
      title = {A Framework for Expanding and Harmonising Sugar Industries within Africa},
      journal = {World Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology},
      volume = {1},
      number = {3},
      pages = {45-53},
      doi = {10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wjast.20230103.12},
      abstract = {African agriculture can be expected to expand over the next few decades, in line with population growth. The production of staple foods, including sugar, is expected to rise substantially to meet the needs of more than a quarter of the world’s population that is expected to live on the continent by 2050. Africa currently produces 6.5% of the world’s sugar, with most of this being supplied by six countries with established sugar industries. Natural trade barriers and slow progress with free trade agreements are likely to keep intra-continental trade relatively low over the next decade. Yet opportunities exist to expand sugar industries to serve local and regional markets. An overview of current sugar production, and the policies adopted by the six largest producers, provides lessons for the future expansion of smaller operations in many of the 35 African countries that currently produce sugar. The study assesses the policies adopted by the countries with large-scale production to create a framework for the expansion of smaller, regional sugar industries. The eight policies recommended cover tariffs, regional economic communities, price-setting intermediaries, guaranteed higher domestic prices for small-scale growers, contracting outgrower suppliers, partnerships with research institutes, the promotion of responsible farming practices, and the formation of a stakeholder committee. Appropriate policies, combined with an opening of regional markets, will enable continued growth of African sugar production to meet the needs of a growing consumer base.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A Framework for Expanding and Harmonising Sugar Industries within Africa
    AU  - Luke Muller
    AU  - Mbongeni Ndlovu
    Y1  - 2023/09/06
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12
    T2  - World Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
    JF  - World Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
    JO  - World Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
    SP  - 45
    EP  - 53
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2994-7332
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjast.20230103.12
    AB  - African agriculture can be expected to expand over the next few decades, in line with population growth. The production of staple foods, including sugar, is expected to rise substantially to meet the needs of more than a quarter of the world’s population that is expected to live on the continent by 2050. Africa currently produces 6.5% of the world’s sugar, with most of this being supplied by six countries with established sugar industries. Natural trade barriers and slow progress with free trade agreements are likely to keep intra-continental trade relatively low over the next decade. Yet opportunities exist to expand sugar industries to serve local and regional markets. An overview of current sugar production, and the policies adopted by the six largest producers, provides lessons for the future expansion of smaller operations in many of the 35 African countries that currently produce sugar. The study assesses the policies adopted by the countries with large-scale production to create a framework for the expansion of smaller, regional sugar industries. The eight policies recommended cover tariffs, regional economic communities, price-setting intermediaries, guaranteed higher domestic prices for small-scale growers, contracting outgrower suppliers, partnerships with research institutes, the promotion of responsible farming practices, and the formation of a stakeholder committee. Appropriate policies, combined with an opening of regional markets, will enable continued growth of African sugar production to meet the needs of a growing consumer base.
    VL  - 1
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies, Durban, South Africa

  • Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, Johannesburg, South Africa

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