Tsb Sugar's Cane Supply Division is charged with ensuring a sustainable supply of high quality cane to the Tsb Mills. The division provides technical support to large, medium and small scale growers, manages the cane inbound process as well as ensuring the efficient management of water resources in support of the Irrigation Boards.

Small scale growers

The small-scale growers are a very important component of Tsb Sugar's overall cane supply to the sugar mills. Approximately 1250 growers as members of 32 farming associations produce sugarcane on 10 000 hecters of tribal land with an annual production of approximately 700 000 tons.

The annual gross turnover provides a significant financial boost to the Nkomazi and Pongola area. It also provides very important job opportunities and the associated development of a range of business and farming skills. It is one of the few very successful black farmer developments in Southern Africa.

Grower Support

Tsb Sugar currently has a comprehensive Grower Support Service providing full time agronomic assistance to all growers via qualified extension officers. It also has a dedicated engineering department to facilitate the maintenance and repairs of irrigation pumps and infrastructure to the SSG's.

The mill and the cane producers are mutually reliant on each other and the grower base is considered a critical aspect. The purpose of the Grower Support Services is therefore to contribute to the maintenance of an independent and financially sustainable grower base.

In a bid to further develop the small-scale growers, in 2005 Tsb Sugar selected seven successful growers from the current small-scale growers (including one company employee), and gave them the opportunity to become medium-scale growers.

These growers started farming on 1 April 2005 and are fully and solely responsible for their own farming operations. Tsb Sugar and other role-players are offering extension services, advice, mentoring and guidance, but the ultimate decision-maker is the grower.

TSB CANE OPERATIONS

Tsb Cane Operations Division provides a comprehensive and complete farm management service on the Tsb estates and to the JV partners. Its main objective is to produce high quality cane and to add value to our JV partners.

Tsb Cane Operations also focuses on the following:

• Intensive skills transfer to the beneficiaries and stakeholders.
• Empowering land claimants and owners/beneficiaries in business development and management skills.
• Providing expertise on all agricultural requirements.
• Maximizing profitability and sustainability on the estates managed.
• Producing 33% of the cane delivered to the two Tsb mills in Nkomazi.

Joint Venture Companies

Tsb Sugar formed joint venture (JV) partnerships with the Siboshwa and Hhoyi communities of which 6 000 hectares of the company's land have been transferred to the communities as part of the solution to the Greater Tenbosch Land Claim.

These JV's ensure a transfer of skills that will enable the new owners to maintain world-class standards on the farms. The JV is paying a lease to the community and the dividends are shared according to shareholding between the community and Tsb which is currently 50/50. Tsb Sugar is currently in negotiations with other land claimant communities for the role out of more JV's as more Tsb land will be transferred to the claimant communities.

Libuyile Farming Services is a 50/50 JV between TSB Sugar and Ingonyama Simhulu Trust read more »

After settlement of the Greater Tenbosch land claim approximately 66% of Tsb cane supply in Nkomazi will come from land reform beneficiaries and SSG’s. read more »