Against a context of declining sugar output in South Africa as a whole, the sugar industry in the Nkomazi Municipality of Mpumalanga Province has increased its

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This paper discusses a conceptual design of a Ag Data service for the farm industry, compares it to desktops FMIS and discusses some of the main concepts this kind of system may include. Beginning with an introduction to the current situation and how the amount and size of the data is affecting the capacity to process it efficiently, on a personal computer desktop or other devices. Following with a description of the characteristics and components, presenting a case study to demonstrate the way it may function within a farm environment.

The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution to this research of many people in Nkomazi. In particular we wish to thank the staff at TSB, Akwandze, LIMA, Agriwiz and Mpumalanga Canegrowers for their generosity and professionalism in making time available for discussion, in providing data and in other assistance to help us achieve our research objectives. We wish also to acknowledge the contribution of the Mill Cane Committees at Malalane and Komati, SSG project secretaries and the more than one hundred and twenty small-scale growers who took part in farm surveys or interviews. Finally we thank Zinhle Mhlanga, Phindile Ndlala and Sertorio Mshothola for their invaluable contribution to the fieldwork we report here.