Tawanda Mangoma  in Chiredzi
Close to 1 000 indigenous sugar cane farmers in the Lowveld have been given a major boost after sugar producer, Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe, announced that it has started crafting a new sugar milling agreement that will see out-growers receiving payment for all by-products from the cane crop.

The new milling agreement will replace the current one that was last revised in 2008 and was unpopular with out-growers who felt it short-changed them, as there was no clarity on the payment of sugarcane by-products such as ethanol.

Indigenous cane out-growers were currently receiving payment for sugar, molasses and filter cake only without benefiting from products of further processing in the sugarcane value chain.

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe managing director Mr Sydney Mtsambiwa confirmed the sugar industry was crafting a new agreement that will see private sugarcane farmers benefiting from by-products such as ethanol and electricity.

“We have got a commercial agreement that is being drafted, which governs the relationship between a supplier of cane (out grower) and the miller (Tongaat Hulett),” he said.

“We are operating with a milling agreement which is de-facto, we haven’t signed one and the last formal one was signed in 2008.” Mr Mtsambiwa said the new cane milling agreement will result in more sustainability in the sugar cane industry.

“In that revision, we are addressing all the issues relating to by-products and value added products,” he said. “As we speak, if a farmer delivers his or her cane for crushing, the principal by-products which are filter cake and molasses were being paid according to the corresponding share for each farmer.

“Ethanol, which most cane farmers want to be paid for, was a value-added product from the molasses Tongaat has been paying for.

“It is a value added product from molasses so it meant when we purchased molasses from the farmer before processing it into ethanol we would have paid the farmer for the fermentable sugars in the molasses, which we use in ethanol production.

“However, we are trying and finalising a new agreement to replace the current de-facto agreement because it’s unhealthy for the industry,” he said.