How to sweeten the lives of sugar cane farmers

Sugarcane farmers have a reason to smile and earn a decent income from their sweat. This follows President Uhuru Kenyatta’s promise that the State will implement the recommendations made by the sugar task-force.

The State, private sector and farmers will each have to do their part to transform the sector if it is to compete with other producers regionally and globally.

First, the farmers must be ready to grow new crop varieties that double the sugar content in the cane. This will mean the farmers double their earnings on the same acreage under the crop.

The labour costs would also increase, but only marginally.

The envisaged crop varieties would also mature in nine to 10 months. This means the farmer would harvest a crop annually unlike the current varieties that take almost two years.

If this new crop requires irrigation in some regions, the onus would be on both levels of government to ensure farmers get adequate water for the purpose.

Fortunately, many of these sugar-growing areas are around large water masses and the government should not shy away from extracting such water for the benefit of its citizens.

Colonial pact

Sudan and Egypt can be expected to make noise as they are already doing following Ethiopia’s construction of a huge dam - the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to generate electricity and for irrigation from River Nile.

They will, no doubt, cite some agreements signed between them and Britain at the time when the region was under colonial rule. Kenya will be within its rights to brush aside this colonial pact and invite the aggrieved countries to come up with fresh proposals that would share the waters equitably.

Surely, it cannot be right that Sudan and Egypt use the Nile waters to irrigate their lands at the expense of the countries up-stream then sell their produce at exorbitant prices to them.

Second, the millers must be jointly owned with farmers.

This will require farmers to safeguard their interests at both ends of the value chain. This should not translate into counties buying shares in the firms unless it is a stop-gap measure designed to quicken the process and off-load the shares to farmers.

Third, the State will need to take its regulatory and oversight roles seriously and guide the farmers to elect their representatives wisely by setting down minimum qualifications.

The State would also do well to ensure farmers are paid on time.