SA Canegrowers calls on President Ramaphosa to support local sugar through the Home Sweet Home pledge
19 September 2023
Ahead of this Heritage Day, SA Canegrowers has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling on him to sign the Home Sweet Home pledge to only buy locally produced sugar. The South African sugar industry, which dates back to the mid 1800s, is currently under siege, facing multiple economic and regulatory threats. This heritage will be lost - along with one million livelihoods - unless we can save the sector.
In his 2021 State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa called on South Africans to buy local, a call that SA Canegrowers has championed and invested in. Now, the President and his government have the opportunity to do the same.
SA Canegrowers launched the Home Sweet Home campaign to raise awareness about the threats to the local sugar industry and encourage consumers to buy locally produced sugar. The campaign arose out of the Sugarcane Value Chain Masterplan that was signed by Ministers Ebrahim Patel and Thoko Didiza in December 2020. Letters requesting support have also been sent to Ministers Didiza and Patel.
The digital phase of the campaign, launched in June 2023, has reached more than 2 million South Africans and thousands have already signed the pledge.