27th May 2025

By Mike Ogg, Regional Head, Africa and Middle East

During my career, I have been fortunate to see firsthand the sugar industry’s tremendous potential to transform the lives of people and communities. This is especially true for smallholder growers who supply sugarcane to be processed by sugar mills. But it also extends to surrounding communities and to everyone in the supply chain.

A unique industry

The sugar industry has unique features that support this development potential.

First, a sugar mill is only profitable if supplied with sugarcane at or near full capacity. Therefore, the foundation of any milling operation is a well-planned, continuous, and assured supply of sugarcane. Depending on agronomic conditions, a sugar mill may require cane from thousands of hectares throughout the milling season. While some mills have their own estates, many rely heavily on external growers – often smallholders – to supply them. This interdependency creates an inherent need for a strong relationship between miller and grower.

Second, sugarcane is a relatively resilient crop. It isn’t as vulnerable to catastrophic crop failure as more delicate crops like certain fruits and vegetables. Additionally, many sugarcane industries operate under a single-channel marketing system, where the mill is the only significant buyer of the cane produced. That is because transporting sugarcane between mills is usually uneconomical due to its bulkiness and perishability. This marketing certainty, combined with the crop’s robustness, gives smallholders greater access to finance – even for those lacking traditional collateral – because lenders have higher confidence in loan repayment.

Finally, many sugar industries around the world work within well-established regulations that govern the sector in the interest of all stakeholders.

So, given all these advantages, why do some milling companies and grower communities thrive while others falter and fail to deliver on their development potential?

It’s all about partnership

In my experience, the answer comes down to two critical factors:

• the nature of the relationship between millers and growers,
• the level of trust within that relationship.

Millers that consider their growers as partners – rather than merely external suppliers – create relationships built on mutual trust, cooperation, and shared value. These companies go beyond simply paying for cane; they invest in their growers’ success. They use non-price mechanisms, such as group input purchasing, shared contractor services, and training programs to help growers become more sustainable and productive.

In contrast, companies that treat growers as transactional suppliers tend to focus almost exclusively on price. These relationships are fragile and often adversarial, lacking the mutual investment needed to address challenges or pursue shared growth.

Like any relationship, building a partnerial dynamic and trust takes commitment and understanding from both sides. Millers must understand growers – their constraints, their risks, and the pathways to sustainable livelihoods. In turn, growers must understand the millers – their business pressures, operational drivers, and supply chain commitments.

Towards stronger, more resilient partnerships

A successful partnership in the sugar industry must be rooted in mutual understanding and respect. Growers and millers rely on each other: growers need mills to crush their cane, and mills need reliable supply to stay operational. Transparent, fair, and equitable pricing mechanisms are essential, as are regular forums to discuss openly and solve issues.

One important disruptor that increasingly challenges this relationship is climate change. Unpredictable weather patterns affect both the timing and quality of sugarcane supply. Excessive rainfall leads to increased mud in the cane delivered, which complicates milling, lowers quality, and adds to tensions between growers and mills.  Likewise extended periods of drought reduce the supply of cane to mills and may cause growers and millers to be unable to fulfil their contractual commitments. This uncertainty can often erode trust and weaken the relationship.

The role of Bonsucro certification in building trust

In this context, I have found that Bonsucro certification can be a powerful catalyst for building and sustaining partnerial relationships, especially among smallholder growers. The certification process takes joint planning, shared commitment, and regular communication between mills and growers. It aligns values around sustainability and mutual improvement. In doing so, it binds both parties together towards common goals.

Certified growers often become more efficient, consistent, and dependable suppliers . The certification process introduces mechanisms for equitable pricing and conflict resolution. It strengthens communication and builds systems for dialogue. Importantly, Bonsucro certification also requires the development of a climate change adaptation and mitigation plan, which strengthens both growers’ and millers’ resilience against climate impacts.

Bonsucro will be revising its Smallholder Standard over the year ahead. This process will be a great opportunity to reinforce our goal of cultivating strong, partnerial relationships within the industry.

By investing in relationships based on shared values, trust, and resilience, the sugar industry can not only achieve its economic potential, but also bring broader social and environmental benefits for generations to come.