- More than 300 sugarcane farmers from the Western and Nyanza region are accusing the state saying it caused their current predicament.
- Mudialo’s sentiments were echoed by Joseph Mulama who is also a farmer in Matungu noting that the effects of the factories' closure are adverse.
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Cane farmers are up in arms over the closure of milling activities blaming the revival of Mumias Sugar Factory saying the miller was allowed to operate yet it did not have adequate cane to meet its milling capacity.
More than 300 sugarcane farmers from the Western and Nyanza region are accusing the state saying it caused their current predicament.
The government, through the Food and Agriculture Authority(AFA), has ordered the suspension of all milling operations for four months owing to a lack of sugarcane.
The move is aimed at allowing the cane to mature before milling operations resume.
But farmers from Busia and Kakamega counties allege that the current sugarcane shortage in Western was a result of Mumias being allowed to operate yet it had inadequate sugarcane.
During a meeting in Namayiakalo, Matungu constituency the farmers questioned how AFA allowed Mumias Sugar Factory to start milling without sugarcane.
Patrick Mudialo, a farmer said one of the requirements that a miller has to meet before being licenced to mill was having raw materials. This directive is aimed at sustaining the factory to the installed crushing capacity.
The farmer, however, wondered how AFA overlooked the requirement of cane development and licenced Mumias Sugar under Sarrai Group to start milling.
Sarrai Group from Uganda was announced the new Mumias Sugar investor on December 22, 2021, and unveiled on December 31, the same year.
Mudialo pointed out that in less than six months, Mumias Sugar had started milling.
Reports from AFA show that by December 2021, Mumias Sugar had 274 hectares under sugarcane.
“Where had Mumias Sugar developed sugarcane that matured within six months and enabled the factory to operate for one year?” Mudialo asked.
“The factories based in Western would still be operating had each miller developed their own cane. Unfortunately, one miller decided to reap where he did not sow and the net effect of that was the closure of all factories due to inadequate sugarcane.”
Mudialo’s sentiments were echoed by Joseph Mulama who is also a farmer in Matungu noting that the effects of the factories' closure are adverse.
“Many people have been sent home because factories are not operating and their jobs are not guaranteed just because there is no sugarcane according to AFA. It is the same authority that contributed to this problem,” Mulama said.
The farmers now want each miller based in Western to conduct a cane census as directed by the government and release a public report on the matter.
Mulama added that the census will reveal the amount of sugarcane each miller has developed and what percentage is ready for harvesting.
“We shall take the demonstration to the AFA offices should they allow a miller that has not developed cane to start operating when factories resume operations after four months. We know that one of the players has no cane,” Mulama said.
AFA directed all the factories in Western and parts of Nyanza to close for a period of four months.
Mulama noted that many factories complied with the directive but Kibos Sugar continued to operate prompting farmers to protest.
However, Kibos has since issued a statement confirming that they will abide by the AFA directive.
“In compliance with Agriculture and Food Authority/Sugar Directorate directive to ban sugarcane harvesting and milling, we will with immediate effect clear harvesting of all fields by August 19, 2023. Factory operation to close by August 25, 2023,” the Kibos statement reads in part.
Kisumu Agriculture executive Kenneth Onyango asked AFA to ensure that the directive to halt cane milling is respected and adhered to for the sake of sustaining a level playing ground.
In a statement sent to the media on August 15, the county executive appealed to all sugar millers to comply with the directive from AFA.
“We are saying this because continued milling will result in cane poaching and harvesting of immature cane as the factory strives to meet its milling capacity," Onyango said.
"Farmers will incur losses from selling immature cane because their crop will not attract the expected weight."