Tracks transport sugarcane to Kibos Sugar and Allied Company in Kisumu County on March 29, 2020.
Transportation of sugarcane remains one of the major challenges contributing to the predicament facing farmers and millers in the sugar industry in the country.
The industry is under increasing economic pressure to improve its productivity and competitiveness but transport in the sugarcane supply chain has been identified as one area where large improvements and associated cost reductions have to be made.
Transport-processing system is very complex, comprising an integrated chain of activities that stretch from the grower to the mill for processing.
Transportation of sugarcane from the fields to the mills is a major element on the cost of sugar production as the system may result in revenue loss from cane lost en route through spillage.
Over the years, milling firms have been using tractor-trailers to ferry the raw material from farms to their factories for crushing.
People from Mumias, are familiar with the sights, sounds and use of tractor-trailers that transported sugarcane to the Mumias Sugar Company (Msc) factory.
The entrance to Mumias Sugar Company.
Memories of the excitement of watching the loaded tractors rumble by, and the hanging of teenage boys on slow-moving tractors carrying a chunk of cane remain vivid.
But in recent years, the role of the alternative sugarcane delivery system of trailers pulled by tractors is getting replaced as the use of trucks and lorries as an alternative system for cane-to-mill delivery has been increasing dramatically.
Millers are making every effort to keep transport operations running smoothly and safely ensuring proper safety procedures that are cost effective.
The increasing role of trucks for cane-to-mill delivery is mainly due to the problems facing the operation of the main delivery system (tractor-trailers).
The low rate and longer delivery time of the tractor-trailer system is one of the major reasons that millers and private transporters are turning to the use of trucks and lorries.
Mr George Muruli, Rai Group head of external affairs and communications said they are using both tractor-trailers and lorries to transport cane to their factories in Busia, Naitiri and West Kabras.
The use of lorries and trucks came into use after the introduction of weighbridges at the farm gate.
“We use tractor-trailers to move cane from the fields to nearby weighbridges because the fields are muddy and rough. From the weighbridges, we use trucks to deliver the raw material to the mills,” said Mr Muruli.
But while millers are using trucks to haul sugarcane, some farmers and private transporters use lorries to pull a load to the mills.
Muruli however states that the use of lorries to haul cane to factories is illegal but promoted by brokers and other fraudulent middlemen who poach cane and secretly sell to millers.
Compact packaging
According to the official, the use of trucks has minimised spillage of cane on the highway.
He says it is difficult for pedestrians to pull cane from the moving trucks because sugarcane is so compactly loaded in the trucks that they cannot drop out.
A photo of a sugarcane tractor shot along the Chemelil-Kisumu route on October 03, 2024. Sugarcane tractors have been blamed for fatal traffic accidents due to their unroadworthy state.
“Turnaround time has also been guaranteed due to the fast moving nature of the trucks compared to tractors. It is recommended to deliver cane to the mill in a short time because more delay in cane delivery leads to losses in sugar production.
"The trucks are able to carry cane equivalent to that of three to four tractors and this saves on transport expenses. Since we introduced the use of trucks, problems such as cane delay and intensive cane losses have gone down,” said Mr Muruli.
He added: “Our trucks also have reflective stickers that can easily be seen from a distance by other road users and this has minimised road accidents.”
Western region traffic officer Walter Cheboren also confirmed that cases of accidents caused by by sugarcane hauling have reduced in the area.
“General road accidents caused through cane hauling have gone down because protruding cane have been managed. Also the trucks have turn-boys who assist drivers when they are tired. And unlike tractors, trucks have light indicators that help drivers to communicate on the road,” said Mr Cheboren.
Cane spillage on freeways is a hazard to other road traffic.
A report by Miwa Bora - a sugar industry knowledge hub shows that post-harvest losses in Kenya is a significant challenge estimated at 40 per cent of the harvested cane in the country leading to approximately financial loss of up to Sh64.475 million.
The report indicates that the major sources of post-harvest cane loss are spillage during transportation, inadequate loading practices and poor road conditions.
When sugarcane is harvested, it is loaded onto tractors for transport to the mill and weighbridges.
Unfortunately, the transportation process is often marred by poor road conditions and inadequate loading practices.
These factors contribute to significant cane spillage, resulting in loss of both raw material and potential revenue for farmers.
Another common issue is the theft of sugarcane by pedestrians from stalled or stopped trucks.
This problem is exacerbated by the long distances that some trucks have to travel to reach mills and the frequent delays caused by traffic or breakdowns.
The temptation for pedestrians to help themselves to the sweet, juicy cane is often too great, leading to further losses for the farmers and transporters.
The two challenges of spillage and theft have also gone down with the use of trucks and lorries.
