African Sugar Development Task Force (ASDTF)

Africa has been a producer of predominantly bulk raw sugar for export to the European and select additional world markets for centuries while the continent itself is currently 10 million metric tonnes away from self-sufficiency—more than half of its consumption comes from foreign imports. If no significant intervention takes place, that deficit is expected to increase over the next decade to 14 million tonnes, further impeding the continent’s food security in addition to billions of dollars in lost revenues from value addition, increased resiliency for national industries through diversification, new jobs and reduction of energy poverty through cane-based energy that a radical transformation could achieve. In early 2019, a pair of senior sugar industry executives set out to find a way to innovate African national sugar industries out of the colonial-era doldrums under which it was established more than a century ago into a sustainable, functioning industry focused on self-sufficiency. With the entrance into force of the AfCFTA in May 2019, a potential solution was presented to the challenge of the region’s sugar production gap—the creation of a continental market. Over the course of Q2-Q3 2019, a discussion paper surrounding the opportunity to develop a sustainable, bio-based circular economy centred upon sugarcane was drafted together with a proposed work program—the African Sugar Development Task Force (ASDTF)— that would over the course of two years lead to the joint development of a continental vision and roadmap that public sector together with private sector, civil society, academia and others could sign on to and agree to implement. The ASDTF was approved by the International Sugar Organization’s 56th Council meeting in November 2019 as an important initiative to set out the strategic, continent-wide vision, policy framework and roadmap to achieve self-sufficiency, food security, economic and climate resiliency sustainably.