Sugarcane farmers urge Ruto to settle factory debt

Cane cutters harvest West Kenya sugar factory contracted sugarcane at Vuyika in Malava Sub-county in Kakamega county on July 12, 2021. West Kenya sugar company pay their farmers on weekly basis. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

Sugarcane farmers in Western Kenya have asked President William Ruto to settle debts owed by state mills to farmers and workers before he can talk about their bonuses.

The farmers also questioned the legal framework around the ambitious scheme.

“The call by the President to have cane farmers get bonuses at the end of the year is a good gesture. But if the Head of State is serious and genuine about reviving the sugar sector, he should first clear arrears of farmers and workers.

“We have farmers who have abandoned cane farming because they have not been paid their arrears, and it will be a good move if the president clears the arrears to give farmers a footing to go back to cane farming before he can introduce the issue of payment of bonuses," said Patrick Mutimba, a farmer from Kakamega.

Mr Mutimba added that there needs to be a clear structure and plan on how the bonus will be paid to farmers and how they will receive or benefit from the Sh600 milion for cane development.

Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Secretary General Simon Wesechere said the President should first give money to sugar mills to pay farmers and workers.

“How will farmers get bonuses from sugar mills which have no money to pay them? The issue of bonuses is a good, but we need to have a legal framework that will facilitate the implementation of the directive. AFA has failed farmers, and they are not up to the task. Let the President therefore sign into law the 2023 Sugar Bill that has stayed in the Parliament for over six years,” said Mr Wesechere.

He added that if the Bill becomes an Act, the Sh600 million the government is set to release this year as part of Sh2 bilion for cane development needs to be channeled to the Sugar Research Institute to carry out research on cane variety and seed cane on behalf of farmers.

Deisterio Okumu, a cane farmer, also questioned the criteria that will be used to ensure farmers get bonuses, terming the President's move as 'too ambiguous'.