KENYA – The Agriculture Departmental Committee members led by Vice Chairperson Yegon Brighton plan to push for the allocation of Sh500M (US$3.76m) to bolster the operations of the ailing sugar miller, Nzoia Sugar Company, instead of privatizing it.
Speaking during a meeting with members of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Livestock who toured the miller to document the problems facing cane farmers, Bungoma leaders led by Governor Kenneth Lusaka, said they will oppose any privatization plan for the company.
They argued that the privatization of Nzoia Sugar Mill will further create a private monopoly and end up exploiting farmers.
Governor Lusaka pointed out that Nzoia Sugar Company is the economic pillar of the County and added that it must be safeguarded. The leaders vowed to fight to see that the company procures modern machines and introduces new technology to improve performance and increase profits.
Kanduyi MP John Makali also pledged to support the company board of management and employees in their efforts to revamp production. He urged cane growers to continue supplying the miller with the raw material to keep the company running.
Nzoia Sugar Company, for instance, is currently milling less than 2,000 tonnes of cane per day (TCD) against the installed capacity of 3,000, according to the management.
The Chair of the Board of the Company, Alfred Khang’ati, said that his team has put measures in place to curb cartels, in the company to ensure sanity is restored.
Cane growers also tabled their proposals, including the restoration of the Kenya Sugar Board and the re-introduction of the sugar development levy to help them to get loans that will support them financially.
Following an acute shortage of sugarcane in the country, leading to a low supply of raw materials for sugar processing, many millers are now facing the threat of a shutdown.
Both private and state-owned mills are struggling to mill due to an acute shortage, with most operating at less than 30 percent of their installed capacity.
The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, led by committee chairperson John Mutunga, who visited the Busia Sugar factory, said it has been established that millers are not operating at optimum crushing capacities due to cane shortage resulting from poaching, and most farmers have shifted to farming other crops.
“The millers in this region are experiencing sugarcane shortages as a result of poaching, lack of policy framework, and unhealthy competition from importers of cheap sugar, which we foresee will affect production and the sugar sector soon,” noted Dr. Mutunga.
He pointed out there is a need to amend policies that will regulate the importation of sugarcane to protect local farmers who invest their resources and time on the farm.
Matayos MP Geoffrey Odanga said the effect of the failure to regulate the farming and trade in cane has triggered an acute shortage in the Western region, adding that the high cost of Agricultural farm inputs is another contributing factor to most farmers shifting from cane farming to maize and other crops.
“Most sugar factories do not have nuclear estates of their own. They are all fighting for the sugarcane in Busia, so there is a serious shortage that needs urgent intervention to help reduce the cost of sugar,” said Odanga.
Odanga wants members of the National Assembly to ensure the Sugar Act is operational to protect both millers and the farmer.
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