From civil unrest and flooding along South Africa’s coast to load shedding and the macroeconomic politics at play, the country’s sugarcane farmers have experienced an increasingly turbulent period over
the past several years. For many, including sugarcane grower, Lindiwe ‘Lee’ Hlubi, or
Mama Lee as she is known, the unrest in July 2021 that reportedly saw more than R50 billion (approximately $3.2 billion at the time of reporting) “wiped off the economy”, was especially difficult.
“With the weather that we’ve been having, my soils have really degraded. You’ll be surprised to know that I’m down to less than 1,000 tons of cane, because I was also affected by the looting [during the civil unrest]. Seventeen hectares of my cane were burned down to ashes. I had started with diversification – I had animals in my farm, but they killed my pigs because they tried to steal them,” she tells FORBES AFRICA.
“Then the following year – 2022 – we were hit by torrential rains. My farm was badly affected, roads were damaged, dams got damaged, so my infrastructure has literally been depleted.”
After acquiring the farm – located in the town of Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) – in 2007, Hlubi says her start in sugarcane farming wasn’t the easiest as she had to commence many processes from scratch, processes which the previous farmer-owner had not followed, as well as purchase the necessary products and materials. She adds that this isn’t always the case, but it was for her.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 2023 - January 2024 de Forbes Africa.
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PLAYING THEIR CARDS RIGHT
THESE UGANDAN GAME DESIGNERS AND FOUNDERS ARE HOLDING UP A MIRROR TO SOCIETY WITH THEIR ART.
THE PLACE TO DO NOTHING
VILANCULOS IS MOZAMBIQUE’S UNTOUCHED GEM WITH ITS MAGNIFICENT SUN, SAND, SURF AND HORSES, AS THIS WRITER DISCOVERED.
ADVANCING AGRICULTURE
AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURS ABROAD ARE RETURNING TO PURSUE AGRICULTURE AND INVEST IN OPPORTUNITIES ON THE CONTINENT, PROVIDING SUBSISTENCE FARMERS WITH THE TECH TOOLS AND KNOW-HOW TO BRING CROPS LIKE FONIO AND CASSAVA TO THE WORLD'S TABLES.
CALL INTO QUESTION
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BOOSTS SMARTPHONES GLOBALLY, BUT AFRICA FACES CHALLENGES.
MICHAEL STRAHAN IS ON THE CLOCK
WITH THREE TV JOBS (AND COUNTING), THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER MAKES HIS DAYS SEEM LONGER THAN 24 HOURS AND REWARDS HIMSELF WITH A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR WATCH COLLECTION. BUT AT 53, HE'S ALREADY DREAMING OF RETIRING. AGAIN.
KINGDOM CALLING
SAUDI ARABIA IS LOOKING HARD AT AFRICA TO UNLOCK GROWTH BEYOND OIL.
SPARKING COMPETITION
CHINESE BRANDS ARE GAINING MOMENTUM AND IGNITING A NEW ERA IN SOUTH AFRICA'S AUTOMOTIVE LANDSCAPE. WHETHER IT'S A SLEEK NEW SUV ROLLING OFF A CHINESE ASSEMBLY LINE OR A LOCALLY-PRODUCED VEHICLE DESIGNED TO COMPETE ON THE GLOBAL STAGE, THE INDUSTRY IS SPEEDING WITH POTENTIAL AND POSSIBILITIES.
NATURE'S WARRIOR
THE MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA AND GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS AT THE WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE, WANJIRA MATHAI HAS LED THE GREEN BELT MOVEMENT IN KENYA AS THE FORMER CHAIR, THE ORGANIZATION HER MOTHER, THE LATE WANGARI MAATHAI FOUNDED IN 1977. FROM NAIROBI, SHE SPOKE TO FORBES AFRICA ABOUT ISSUES SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND LANDSCAPE RESTORATION - CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS AS SHE HONORS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF HER MOTHER'S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. HERE ARE EXCLUSIVE EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW.
TALK AIN'T CHEAP
PODCAST SUPERSTAR ALEX COOPER BUILT A MEDIA EMPIRE IN THE STREAMING ECONOMY. IN AUGUST, SHE INKED A $125 MILLION DEAL WITH LEGACY RADIO SERVICE SIRIUSXM TO BRING A NEW GENERATION OF FANS TO THE AGING SATELLITE NETWORK. NOW SHE HAS TO DELIVER.
A NEW ERA IN ONCOLOGY: TACKLING THE DREADED 'C' WORD WITH AI
AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESHAPES HEALTHCARE, THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER IS WITNESSING UNPRECEDENTED BREAKTHROUGHS, FROM MICROSCOPIC NANOROBOTS TO VIRTUAL TREATMENT TWINS. THIS ACCELERATION IN DRUG DISCOVERY IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF AI'S IMPACT ON ONCOLOGY, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.
