SASTA 2025 Congress Overview
The Congress will commence with a welcome address from the SASTA President, Dr Muhammad Kadwa, followed by a keynote presentation by Liesel Kassier. The opening session will conclude with a vote of thanks from the President and a response from the SASTA Patron, Rex Talmage.
The first plenary session will feature industry reviews of both the Agriculture and Factory sectors, along with a commemorative presentation celebrating the 100th anniversary of the South African Sugarcane Research Institute. The session wraps up with a practical success story, highlighting a grower’s SusFarms® journey. After lunch, the focus will be on the small-scale grower sector, followed by a short poster session covering a range of topics. Delegates will get together at the end of the first day for a meet and greet.
Agriculture Programme Highlights
Day 2 kicks off with presentations on yellow sugarcane aphid (YSA) and genetically modified (GM) sugarcane. The second plenary will focus on sustainability of the sugarcane industry. It will open with a strategic vision for sustainability and diversification, followed by an examination of how the sugar value chain could support the regional energy transition.
A series of technical presentations will cover new developments in sugarcane-based material science, the economic viability of sustainable aviation fuel, and pathways for diversification into biochemicals, biofuels, and biomaterials. An assessment of bio-based acrylic acid and propylene glycol production will be included. The session will close with the introduction of a locally developed energy drink, showcasing value addition in the sector.
The final session of the day will explore recent advances in precision agriculture and digital technologies. This includes automated field boundary mapping and infrared spectroscopy to assess leaf nitrogen levels, drone-based interventions for managing YSA and detecting anomalies, the integration of digital data collection systems for biosecurity surveys and disease tracking.
Day 3 starts with a session on nutrition, covering sulphur management strategies, quantification of nitrogen volatilisation losses under laboratory conditions, mapping long-term soil pH variability, and improving soil fertility through intercropping. Preliminary research findings on climate change will be covered in the final plenary session. Recent SASTA field and factory visits will also be highlighted.
The final session of Congress will feature presentations on sustainable farming practices, a data-informed framework for managing varietal performance, and a study on the impact of harvest timing and soil types on ratoon yield decline. The programme will conclude with an assessment of rising groundwater levels and their impact on water management in the crop.
Factory Programme Highlights
There is an emphasis on energy and recovery optimisation. The first session looks at the boilers, with a major input from boiler designers and suppliers. The session on energy focuses on power exports and energy-saving equipment. There are then two sessions on the back-end factory, looking at optimisation and improving control. The final session looks at factory measurement to enable improvements to be made. Interspersed throughout the sessions are presentations on some by-products and new equipment.
It is pleasing to see the number of presentations from technology and equipment suppliers, mostly focusing on energy and recovery improvements.
