Online Reporter
George Maponga in Chiredzi
A 10-YEAR Zimbabwe Sugarcane Industry Development Strategy is being crafted with a target to increase aggregate national sugar output to nearly one million tonnes by the year 2035.
The strategy embodies the core tenets of the National Development Strategy 1 and 2, and its targets fit into the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 of making Zimbabwe an empowered upper-middle-income economy by that year.
The Ministries of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, and Industry and Commerce are jointly spearheading the crafting of the strategy, which will be unveiled soon.
It will be a collaborative, cross-ministerial response designed to decisively address constraints in the sugarcane farming industry and unleash the full transformative potential of this sector.
Among other key highlights of the strategy, average sugarcane output per hectare in Chiredzi and Chisumbanje should rise from the current 81 tonnes per hectare to 105 tonnes by 2035.
At the moment, about 57 percent of the country’s sugarcane crop is produced by Triangle and Hippo Valley Estates on around 26 700ha, while out-grower farmers accounted for nearly 21 000ha as of December 2024.
In addition, about 14 000ha is under sugarcane for ethanol production in Chisumbanje (12 700 ha) and Middle Sabi (1 300ha), and there are plans to increase this hectarage by 10 000 ha by the year 2035.
Zimbabwe produces around 400 000 tonnes of sucrose annually, which is milled at two mills in the Lowveld owned by Triangle Limited and Hippo Valley Estates Limited.
