As the future of South Africa’s sugarcane sector depends on innovation and the development of new technologies, SA Canegrowers has prioritised wealth of experience, a strong scientific and research background and a passion for the industry in its new management appointment.
SA Canegrowers continues to prioritise the future sustainability of South Africa’s sugarcane industry as it appoints longstanding sugar industry specialist, Michelle Binedell into the position of Technology and Innovation Manager.
SA Canegrowers’ CEO, Dr Thomas Funke described the appointment as exciting. He said, the organisation was looking to further embed its strategic aim to achieve internationally approved certification and diverse downstream value adds and to secure the future sustainability of the South African crop.
“Michelle has exceptional credentials and brings years of valuable experience to the position. She will drive the further development of downstream production diversification, such as ethanol and aviation biofuel supply. She will assist our growers to benchmark their farming methods against growingly strict international market access criteria. She will also drive the adoption and development of technology to assist with improved on-farm best practice,” he said.
Binedell who worked at the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) for 16 years, qualified from the former Durban Technikon (now the Durban University of Technology) with a Diploma in Microbiology before joining the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) where she worked for 18 years. During her time at the CSIR, Binedell furthered her studies by completing a master’s degree in environmental management from the University of Natal (UKZN) in 2003.
“While I thoroughly enjoyed my role as Knowledge Manager at SASRI, the aspect of my position related to sustainability and certification was small. In my new position it will be a core activity. Sustainable production linked to best environmental practices is my passion,” she added.
She said a key priority in her new position included becoming a “player” in the sugarcane industry’s sustainability journey, to get growers to profit and benefit from sustainable farm management practices, while simultaneously making sure new technologies were adopted by growers to create efficiencies and to promote on-farm diversification strategies.
The Sustainable Sugarcane Farm Management System (SUSFARMS®), which begun in the late 1990’s and has since become a highly respected management tool for sugarcane farmers, was a key growth area according to Binedell.
She said it was integrally linked to the growing necessity for the certification of the South African crop to secure access to international markets such as the European Union.
“That is another reason I am so excited about my new position. I will be engaging continually with all the certification streams e.g., the Round Table for Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the global sustainability platform for sugarcane, Bonsucro, and the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) platform, among others. At the same time, I will be involved with growers at a much more operational level than in the past.”
At SASRI, Binedell was primarily involved in strategic projects, relationship management and industry training. . “I worked very closely with the research and extension managers, collectively making sure scientific results were packaged, translated and distributed appropriately to make sure knowledge and technology was shared broadly. I also looked after the institute’s publication portfolio,” she said.
Further responsibilities included training courses such as the development and implementation of the Sugarcane Senior Certificate Course and regional modular courses.
The highlight of her tenure, Binedell added, was when the research institute developed frameworks for technology development and knowledge exchange projects.
“Knowledge exchange activities became more formalised as a result. Resources were allocated to them which meant we ramped up ideas sharing between academics and the broader industry community for the benefit of the whole sector,” she said.
And while Michelle clearly has all the knowledge and experience to hit the ground running, she says, she will spend the first few weeks “just listening”. “I am going to take it slowly at the start. I feel I must just do a lot of listening, particularly as I engage more closely with commercial growers. I want to see where I can fit and how I can support each constituency to become more self-sustaining,” she said.
