Africa Sugar 2025: Main Conference Day 1
- Analyse the current state of the global sugar market and international trade dynamics.
- Examine Africa's unique geographical advantages and challenges in the context of sugar imports and exports, particularly the impact of low-cost imports from global giants like Brazil and India.
- Discuss expectations for global sugar prices and their implications for African producers.
- Jessica Edinger - Manager, Sugar Analytics, S&P Global
Address critical obstacles for investors, including currency issues, infrastructure gaps, and skills shortages.
Showcase potential growth areas and successful investments despite the challenges in various African markets.
- Simbarashe Garaba - Business Improvement Director, Zambia Sugar
- David Kafuko - Technical Manager, Uganda Farmers Crop Ind.
Exploring opportunities in automation, technology, and renewable energy integration for sugar producers.
Ensuring environmental and social sustainability in Africa’s sugar production value chains.
Engage with development finance institutions (DFIs) to understand their criteria for supporting biofuel projects and what makes a project bankable.
Explore the role of organizations like the African Development Bank in promoting sustainable biofuel initiatives in Africa.
Explore the role of DFIs, investors, and development banks in scaling sustainable sugar production across Africa.
Identify investment opportunities in bio-refineries, advanced R&D, and value chain infrastructure in countries like Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
Understanding the impact of the EU Green Deal on African sugar exports and compliance requirements.
Explore how leveraging the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, with a potential €300 billion for investments, could provide opportunities for African sugar producers.
Highlighting sustainability measures, including fair labor practices, to meet European consumer expectations.
- Julian Price - Executive Director, ACP/LDC Sugar Industries Group
Examining how government policies and subsidies affect the sugar and ethanol industries in Africa.
Identify key areas where regulatory support could drive growth and stability.
Addressing the need for policies that support production, sustainability, and trade.
- Grace Bwengye - Planner Agriculture, National Planning Authority
A panel of policymakers discussing policies impacting the sugar industry across Africa.
Explore the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) partnership and its implications for access to European and UK markets.
Discover how regulatory frameworks in Brazil support ethanol production and the lessons Kenyan regulators can apply.
Hear perspectives on how mandates like Kenya's E10 can be realistically fulfilled by building up local supply chains.
- Grace Bwengye - Planner Agriculture, National Planning Authority
- Jude Chesire - Director, Sugar Directorate, Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA)
Explore the impact of climate change, including droughts and floods, on sugar yields and crop sustainability.
The potential for irrigation and drought-resistant crop varieties to mitigate risks.
Innovative practices and technologies for managing climate risks.
- Alasdair Harris - Estate Agriculture Head, Illovo Sugar
Best practices in reducing carbon footprints within the sugar industry, inspired by global leaders.
Evaluating the benefits of adopting renewable energy sources, such as bioethanol, in sugar processing.
Outlining opportunities in carbon sequestration and CO₂ absorption, leveraging sugarcane as a climate-resilient resource.
- Sharon Cherobon - Smallholder Sugarcane Farmer + Co-Founder, Miche Agroconsulting Company Limited
Exploring the role of sugar by-products like ethanol in advancing clean energy solutions in Africa.
Showcasing case studies on ethanol use in cooking and transportation fuel innovations.