An evaluation of the South African sugar industry's small cane growers' financial aid fund.

The research is an evaluative case study of the South African Sugar Industry's Small Cane Growers' Financial Aid Fund (FAF) .FAF has been operating since 1973 and has advanced 59 597 loans amounting to R175 million to small scale sugar cane growers located in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa.F AF, which has been the principal supplier of credit to small scale growers over the period, also • operates a savings facility.Small scale grower development in South Africa has been driven by prevailing economic conditions in the sugar industry and its need to meet expanding markets.Small scale vi 4.10 FAF's Interest Rate 4.11 Calculation of Loan Amounts 4.12 Bad Debts 4.12.1 N oodsberg area : History and Irrecoverable debts 4.12.2Eston area : History and Irrecoverable debts 4.12.2.1 Eston Small Scale Growers -Demographics 4.12.2 .2Eston Small Scale Growers -Loan area 4.12.2.3 Eston Small Scale Growers -Loan status 144 4.12.2.4 Eston Small Scale Growers -Cane production 4.12.2.5 Eston Small Scale Growers -Ratoon Management 146 4.12.2.6 Eston Small Scale Growers -Condition of Cane 146 4.12.2.7 Eston Small Scale Growers -Months since last delivery 147 4.12.2.8 Eston Small Scale Growers -Age of Loan 148 4.12.2.9 Eston Small Scale Growers -Arrears and Bad Debts 148 4.12.2.10 Eston Small Scale Growers -Summary 149 4.13 4.13 F AF, Prime and Land Bank interest rates compared to the CPI 129 4.14 Redemption of a loan of R4840 with given parameters 132 4.15 Small scale grower debt repayment ability 134 4.16 N oodsberg mill area small scale grower cane deliveries -1973 to 139 1994 4.17 History of small scale grower development in the Eston area -141 1947 to 1995 4.18 Eston small scale grower survey population distribution 143 4.19 Number of loans per borrower in the Eston area 144 4.20 Eston small scale growers' condition of surveyed crop 147 4.21 Eston small scale growers' months since last sugar cane delivery 147 4.22 Eston small scale growers' outstanding loans by date of loan 148 4.23 Eston small scale growers' arrears status 149 4.24 Eston small scale grower average tons cane per grower 150 delivering and average registered area per grower 4.25 Comparison of F AF' s actual interest rate with the rates required 160 to recover costs 4.26 Actual rate of return on F AF capital employed compared to 161 FAF's opportunity rate of return 5.1 Distribution of small scale growers by distance from a sugar mill 168 -1981 5.2 Sugar cane "profit" for small scale growers using and not using 171 credit at 25 kilometres from a sugar mill 5.3 Small scale grower "profit" with an average yield of 32 tons per 186 hectare using F AF loans to establish and re-establish the cane crop xvii 5.4 Small scale grower "profit" with an average yield of 50 tons 188 sugar cane per hectare using F AF loans to establish and reestablish sugar cane 5.5 Small scale grower cane establishment with contractor acting as 189 money lender 5.6 Small scale grower income with progressive re-establishment of 192 cane 6.1 Maidstone mill area small scale grower cane deliveries -1973 to 203 1995 6.2 Maidstone small scale grower average tons cane per grower 204 delivering and average registered area per grower 6.3 Amatikulu mill area small scale grower cane deliveries -1973 to 210 1995 6.4 Amatikulu small scale grower average tons cane per grower 211 delivering and average registered area per grower 6.5 Felixton mill area small scale grower cane deliveries 1973 to 214 1995 6.6 Felixton small scale grower average tons cane per grower 215 delivering and average registered area per grower 6.7 The relationship between small scale growers and sugar mills 224 with respect to involvement of the parties 7.1 Demographic profile of surveyed small scale grower households 245 7.2 Demographic profile of respondents 246 7.3 Methods small scale growers used to carry out land preparation 251 7.4 Methods small scale growers used to carry out planting 252 7.5 Methods small scale growers used to carry out weeding 252 7.6 Methods small scale growers used to carry out fertilizing 253 7.7 Methods small scale growers used to carry out harvesting 253 XV111 7.8 Methods small scale growers used to carry out transporting 254 7.9 Frequency distribution of surveyed small scale growers' land 271 area as recorded by F AF 7.10 Number of surveyed small scale growers delivering per season 273 and average sugar cane tonnage per grower 7.11 Number of seasons that surveyed small scale growers delivered 274 and average total tonnage of sugar cane per grower 7.12 Number of seasons that surveyed small scale growers delivered 276 and average tons sugar cane per grower -THS 7.13 Distribution of surveyed small scale growers according to 278 average tons cane delivered per hectare per season 7.14 Surveyed small scale growers distribution of area and tons cane 280 7.15 Distribution of small scale growers producing more than 35 tons 308 sugar cane per hectare according to the number of seasons they produced sugar cane 7.16 Distribution of better performing small scale growers according 309 to their average yield of sugar cane per hectare 8.1 Small scale grower total sugar cane proceeds -1972 to 1995 319 8.2 Simplified representation of the sugar industry division of 321 proceeds 8.3The relationship between growers and sugar mills indicating 325 zone of mutual benefit 8.4The perceived interaction between F AF, growers and millers 335 8.5The structure of the Financial Aid Fund 1996/97 onwards 337 8.6 Agricultural finance 339 8.7 Proposed structure of rural financial services in sugar producing 341 areas 1.