Natural inputs ‘Sugar needs a hot climate. Swaziland’s Low Veld area (see Fig. 9.9) has an average monthly temperature of 29°C in summer, and temperatures rarely fall below 415°C. There are also alot of sunshine Nous every day ‘Swaziland has flat land for large-scale mechanisation. Large-scale commercial sugar farming in Swaziland ‘Sugar needs at least 1800 mm of rainfall a year, which ‘Sugar can be produced from either sugar beet (a root crop) ‘Swaziland does not receive (see Fig. 9.10), solrigation or sugar cane. in the eastern part of Swaziland (an LEDC ‘18 Needed from the county's rivers. in southern Africa), sugar is produced from sugar cane. The sugar cane plant produces sucrose (sugar) in its leaves, which it then stores in its stem, > The alluvial sols in the river valleys are rich in nutrients and retain moisture. Sugar cane production is the single biggest industry in Swaziland. Sugar is easily Swaziland’s largest export Large commercial sugar cane estates account for about 77% of Swaziland’s production. The rest is in the hands of a great number of smaller growers, Bib He rege height 1200m) steep valleys | Mile Vis average hej 700m) ring hits HE om ei rage pea 200) at or gre HB Lever (neignt 600m) steep valleys pe Key sour arate) ‘MRI Ni I be: 1000 [Ei cxtween 750-1000 | Beton 750 7 4 N ‘SOUTH AFRICA ow» i. ne) Fig. 9.9 Swaziland’ reliet SugarcaneFig. 9.11 Swaziland’s rivers and the location of the sugar-growing areas> Capital - to buy the land, build the irigation canals (the Mhlume water gravity feed canal was opened in 1958), build the sugar mills (processing sugar cane close to the fields is important), and buy machinery (the suget Industry is highly mechanised). Labour both unskilled and skilled (engineers, managers, agriculturalists, chemists, machine workers). The big ‘sugar companies offer their employees benefits, such as: schools on the estates, college scholarships, free medical services, free or subsidised housing, security services, an orphan programme, and sporting and recreational facilities. Entry to international markets provided by government trade agreements ~ a politieal input. ‘The trade agreements include: fe the SACU Sugar Cooperation Agreement, which allows sugar to enter other countries in southern Africa ‘© the United States Sugar Program, which allows sugar sales to the USA ‘© the COMESA agreement, which allows sugar from Swaziland to enter other southern and east African countries © Currently 39% of Swaziland's sugar is sold to the European Union (EU). Abolition of sugar beet quotas in the EU in 2017 is likely to reduce prices for Swazi sugar, threatening the industry.Processes Unlike some large-scale commercial farms, Swaziland's sugar estates are not run on extensive principles. In fact, the inputs of labour, fertiliser and irrigation are quite intensive, > Irigation water is taken from rivers by canal. It then reaches the cane by a variety of methods: furrow 39%, sprinkler 54%, drip 4%, and centre pivot 3%. > The growth of the sugar cane crop in Swaziland takes about 12 months (a relatively short time for sugar cane), > The ripe sugar cane is first burned in the fields (see Fig. 9.12). This makes harvesting it easier, because it removes all of the leaves ~ but does not damage the sugar inside. The cane is then cut down and taken to the sugar mills for crushing. Sugar cane will regenerate for several years before replanting is necessary. New plants are raised in a ‘hursery for replanting in the fields.Fig. 8.12 Burning sugar cane vetore narvesting I Outputs Swaziland has three sugar mils: Mhlume, Simunye and Ubombo. The first two are part of the Royal Swaziland ‘Sugar Corporation, which operates a 20 000-hectare sugar cane estate with an annual production capacity in excess of 500 000 tonnes. The outputs are raw sugar, refined suger, brown sugar, molasses, and bagasse: All three mills produce raw sugar and brown sugar. Mnlume an¢ Ubombo also produce refined sugar. > Molasses is a sticky substance which does not form ‘sugar grains. It is produced at all three mills. The two main distilors (USA Distilors and RSSC Distillers) use ‘most ofthe molasses for the production of alcohol. The remainder is sold to small local and foreign customers, \who use its an input for food production and as animal feed, The bagasse (or fibre) is used as animal feedyA OEM rca OR tlm) ECR CLC) Cana Cm ROM t] Cc MCU ase Colm ere (HCMC sass UL and Mhlume 430 000 tonnes, Ubombo 230 000 tonnes, Tambankulu 62 000 tonnes. First you will need to convert the figures in tonnes to percentages. 2 Look at