AFA under fire amid sugarcane scarcity in Western region
A farmer topdressing Urea and DAP fertiliser on sugarcane at Muliru area Ikolomani in Kakamega County on October 2, 2022.
Sugarcane farmers in Western are blaming the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) for the sugarcane shortage in the region that has seen factories halt operations.
The farmers, drawn from Busia and Kakamega counties, allege that AFA caused the biting scarcity by allowing one of the factories to operate without establishing sugarcane plantations.
The more than 300 farmers, who met in Namayiakalo, in Matungu Constituency at the weekend, questioned how AFA allowed Mumias Sugar Factory to start milling without establishing its base for the raw materials.
According to Mr Patrick Mudialo, a farmer from Namayiakalo, one of the requirements that a miller has to meet before being licensed is to establish a base for the raw materials that can sustain factory operations.
Mr Mudialo wondered how AFA overlooked the requirement of cane development and licensed Mumias, under Sarrai Group, to start milling.
Uganda-based Sarrai Group took over operations at Mumias Sugar in December 2021. In less than six months, Mumias Sugar had started production.
According to AFA data, the miller, as of December 2021, had only 274 hectares under sugarcane.
“Where had Mumias Sugar developed sugarcane that matured within six months and enabled the factory to operate for one year?” Mr Mudialo posed.
His sentiments were echoed by Mr Joseph Mulama from Matungu, who lamented that the effects of the factory shutdowns to people’s livelihoods were adverse.
“Many people have been sent home and their jobs are not guaranteed just because there is no sugarcane. AFA is to blame for this problem,” said Mr Mulama.
The farmers now want each miller based in Western to conduct a sugarcane census as directed by the government and make their reports public.
According to Mr Mulama, the census will reveal the amount of sugarcane each miller has developed and what percentage of it is ready for harvesting.
This comes after the AFA directed all the factories in Western and parts of Nyanza to close for four months to allow sugarcane to mature in farms.
While many factories complied with the directive and closed down temporarily last month, Kibos Sugar continued to operate prompting farmers to protest.
In press statement dated August 15, 2023, Kisumu County Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Executive Kenneth Onyango asked AFA to ensure that the directive to halt cane milling is complied with for the sake of sustaining a level playing ground.
“We are saying this because continued milling will result in cane poaching and harvesting of immature cane as the factory strives to meet its milling capacity,” Mr Onyango said at the time.
Kibos has since issued a statement confirming that they will abide by the AFA directive.
“We will with immediate effect clear harvesting of all fields by August 19, 2023. Factory operation to close by August 25, 2023,” the statement read in part.
