- The immature cane, the farmers said, is light when weighed and does not therefore guarantee high returns.
- Sugar millers in Western are currently in the race to buy cane as they seek to remain in operation. This is despite limited cane under acreage in the region.
Image: EMOJONG OSERE
Sugarcane farmers in Busia want cane growers to stop harvesting the crop before maturity.
The farmers who spoke to the press on Friday at Tangakona in Nambale subcounty said harvesting immature cane robs the growers of maximum profit.
The immature cane, they said, is light when weighed and does not, therefore, guarantee high returns.
Led by renowned cane grower Paul Abula, the farmers said sugar millers have been exerting immense pressure on them to harvest cane prematurely.
Sugar millers in Western Kenya are currently in the race to buy cane as they seek to remain in operation. This is despite limited cane under acreage in the region.
“These companies have become many. We thought that with high competition among them, we will benefit as farmers,” Abula said in an interview.
“But what is interesting is that despite their numbers, we are not making a lot of money. Because of high competition, they are now buying cane before maturity.”
The main millers crushing cane in Western include former giant Mumias Sugar, Nzoia Sugar, West Kenya, West Kenya – Olepito Unit and Busia Sugar.
The presence of the five, the farmers said, does not tally with the number of farmers currently planting sugarcane.
Western Kenya is the largest producer of sugar in Kenya, supporting about 170,000 smallholder farming households.
About 80 per cent of sugar production in the country is from smallholder farms.
“We are making loses because when they cut cane before maturity, cane weight reduces,” Abula said.
“What we want is for every company to enlist its farmers and there should be clear guidelines on when the cane should be cut.”
The millers are scrambling for cane following a reduction in the number of farmers growing the crop after thousands abandoned production.
This emanated from frustrations the farmers underwent as a result of delayed pay after cane delivery and the general mismanagement of the industry that was once one of Kenya’s most vibrant sectors.
“We want to call on our members to stop cutting immature sugarcane because when you cut sugarcane that is young, it is you the farmer who will lose, not the company,” Abula said.
“Let us allow our cane to mature because that is when you will harvest a heavy product that will give you more money.
“The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) should intervene on this. If the law says every miller must list farmers who will supply cane to the miller, then that is what should happen because the competition that we are witnessing is what is exerting pressure on farmers to cut cane that is not ready.”
The farmers also called on the government to limit the importation of sugar in order to protect local industries, which they said, play a critical role in the provision of employment.