KENYA – Kenyan cane farmers in the Nyando sugar belt have voiced strong opposition to the push for reopening sugarcane weighbridges that were previously shut down by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).
A section of farmers is calling for AFA to permit the operation of these weighbridges, but many farmers within the region insist that the closures remain in place until millers establish weighbridges within their designated jurisdictions.
Killion Osur, Secretary of the Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers’ Muhoroni branch, emphasized that the weighbridges should remain closed until millers comply with the established guidelines.
“Let millers open weighbridges within their jurisdictions, and not to open them everywhere,” Osur stated. He highlighted the importance of adhering to the sugar task force report, which clearly delineated regional zoning for the sugar sector.
According to Osur, the task force report divided Kenya into five regions and mandated that millers operate within these specified areas, as directed by AFA.
He warned that allowing millers to operate weighbridges indiscriminately would lead to resource depletion in some regions.
“If the millers are allowed to operate these weighbridges anywhere, then other millers will run out of the raw materials,” he cautioned.
Osur accused some millers of “poaching” sugarcane by setting up weighbridges outside their designated areas.
He called on West Kenya Sugar Mill and Kibos Sugar Factory to restrict their cane collection to their respective zones. Kibos Sugar Factory has already ceased operations of weighbridges outside its jurisdiction, in line with these concerns.
Cane transporters in the Nyando belt have also expressed fear of losing business if millers from outside the region are allowed to operationalize weighbridges within their territory.
Edward Onyango, chairman of Muhoroni Transporters, remarked, “They will transport all the cane outside the belt and that will lock out our transporters from business.”
AFA Director Samuel Ong’ow defended the decision to close the weighbridges, stating that it was made after extensive consultations with industry stakeholders to bring order to the sector.
“Kibos has closed 5, West Kenya has closed 3, and we have agreed that every miller must stick to its area,” Ong’ow said. He also noted that the current Sugar Bill, which is pending in the Senate, will formalize this arrangement.
This comes as the government recently approved a budget of KES654 million (US$51.3 million) for the 2023/2024 fiscal year to support struggling sugar millers in clearing debts owed to farmers and workers.
Of this amount, KES354 million (US$2.8 million) will be allocated to settle debts owed to farmers at Nzoia, Muhoroni, Chemelil, and Sony millers.
This move has been welcomed by sugarcane stakeholders in the region, who see it as a positive step towards revamping the struggling sugar industry.
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