Kisii cane farmers turn to jaggery production as Sony Sugar wobbles

Sugarcane farmers in Kisii County have turned to making jaggery using traditional methods after the near-collapse of the Sony Sugar factory where they used to deliver their cane.

Farmers had a ready market in the State-owned plant in Awendo, Migori County, but its near-collapse has been a big blow to them economically so they have devised ways to process their cane.

The factory is one of five that the government is keen on privatising so as to revive them.

On June 8 this year, Sony Sugar shut down operations for six weeks to carry out routine maintenance but the factory is yet to resume crushing cane.

“The repairs are projected to give a lifeline of six to eight months. We have experienced frequent and long breakdowns of late,” said acting Managing Director Stephen Ligawa.

He added, “Output from the unit amount of cane has gone down but we hope there will be a bailout from the government. We are running at 70 per cent losses.”

As farmers wait for its revival, they are now producing jiggery, which they sell locally.

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Market shrinking

Jaggery is made from unrefined sugar and is obtained by boiling raw, concentrated sugar cane juice until it solidifies.

Though sugarcane growers have not commercialised its production due to the high capital needed, farmers in Bonchari and South Mugirango, where the crop is mostly grown, are using rudimentary methods to make it.

Jared Onguru said their business has deteriorated over the years, with the jaggery market shrinking quickly.

“We use this traditional way to produce jaggery because there is no market. We produce it on a small scale because even the little we have is stuck in our stores,” he lamented.

He noted that the flooding of the Kenyan market with cheap sugar from neighbouring countries has made the situation worse.

“With the end product, which is sugar being cheap, we are forced to lower the price of by-products,” he said.

Brokers and middlemen

Mr Onguru noted that brokers and middlemen in the industry have made it worse and keep exploiting them by taking advantage of the farmers’ lack of a market.

“We sell a piece of jaggery for Sh20, and the day's average earnings are around Sh10,000. Workers get about Sh2,000,” he said, noting that because of the shrinking market, mature cane has overstayed on farms.

Two years ago, a piece of jaggery sold for about Sh50, but the price has reduced tremendously to Sh20.

Getting customers is also a struggle. An acre of cane produces about Sh100,000. It takes about a month to produce jaggery from an acre of cane using the traditional method.

Jaggery is a rich source of nutrition for livestock. It is also used to make sweeteners for cakes and cookies. It is also used to make local traditional brews, such as kangara.

Mr Onguru said they prefer the traditional method of producing jaggery because it is economical.

“It is worse during this Covid-19 pandemic. Transporting it is even a problem due to lockdowns. Getting food to eat is even a problem,” he said.

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Tedious work

The traditional method entails using bulls to drive the cane grinder. Kevin Asugo said that though the traditional production of jaggery is tedious, they have no other option.

“We start by cutting the cane, then we put it together near the grinding site and then tie two bulls to the grinder, which helps to produce the juice. We later put the juice in big metallic tanks, place them on a furnace and boil it,” he said.

After boiling the juice for about three hours, a dark-brown pulp is obtained. It is then stirred to mix it well and help in cooling. It is later put in small metallic containers similar to tumblers and left to cool and solidify.

“We then remove the end product from the containers, which is jiggery, and store it waiting for sale,” Mr Asugo said.

Mr Asugo, one of the workers on Mr Onguru’s farm, says they are paid Sh200 a day.

He says after cutting the cane, the green leaves are given to livestock. They are a good source of fodder.

The crushed cane is dried and used in the furnace to provide heat. “Nothing is lost from the cane,” Mr Asugo said.

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