Manual Sugarcane Cutter Performances in the Southern African Region

The South African sugar industry harvests in excess of 20 million tons of sugarcane annually. More than 90% of this tonnage is currently being harvested manually. During 2002, the South African Sugar Association Experiment Station’s Agricultural Engineering Department conducted a comprehensive cane cutter survey throughout the South African and Swaziland sugar industries. The primary objective was to identify the productivity ranges for manual cane cutters across various harvesting systems, in both green and burnt cane. Factors impacting on cane cutter performance were also investigated. A small number of time and motion studies were also conducted to identify the time utilisation of the various cane cutter tasks. Results indicate that cane cutter performances vary widely between cutters, farms and regions, and average output is greatly dependent on harvesting systems. Factors influencing cutter performance appear to follow Herzberg’s ‘Motivation-Hygiene’ response theory, where general working conditions and wages do not affect productivity if they are adequate, but aspects such as conferring responsibility motivate for higher output. Future research requirements are also proposed.