Africa-Press – Kenya. Matungu MP Peter Nabulindo has moved a motion in Parliament seeking to compel sugar millers to set up a fund for financing cane farmers.
The lawmaker wants the House to ratify his proposal for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to review sugar development policies to provide for the fund.
“This House resolves that the national government, through the Agriculture ministry, reviews sugar development policies to provide that every investor miller sets aside definite funds for the development of sugar cane farming,” he said in moving the motion to be debated in the National Assembly.
A motion can lead to a policy change, amendment of law, or drafting of a new law.
The MP said his move follows concerns sugar cane production has reduced to about 300,000 tonnes annually from a possible capacity of 600,000 tonnes.
Nabulindo said the kitty would be used to give incentives to farmers – cane seedlings, and fertiliser, among others.
“This is for them to embrace sugarcane growing and enhance cane production in each of the respective zones,” he said.
The MP said the situation where cane farms have been shrinking is worrying, especially at a time when there is a huge demand for sugar in an environment of shortages.
“Over the past 25 years, sugar cane farming, particularly in Western Kenya has been declining significantly thereby dipping sugar production,” he told MPs.
He said the decline in farming has forced local millers to operate far below capacity, leaving the country to rely on imports to offset the balance.
Sugar firms – especially those partly owned by the State such as Mumias Sugar, Nzoia Sugar, Sony Sugar, Chemelil and Muhoroni have been performing dismally.
Mumias and Nzoia ceased milling while the others operate intermittently, with billions in debt owed to thousands of farmers who supplied them with cane.
With dwindling returns and the death of outgrower associations, many farmers abandoned the crop for other alternatives.
“The acute shortage of sugarcane resulting from the mass abandonment of sugar cane farming would occasion loss of the invested public funds instead of yielding success,” Nabulindo argued.
Earlier this month, Nzoia Sugar chairman Alfred Khangati said several private and publicly owned sugar factories in the region had shut their doors for lack of sugar cane to crush.
He cited Mumia’s Sugar Company and Naitiri Sugar Mill among those shut down and observed that West Kenya Sugar Company was almost taking the cue.
“These sugar cane problems have affected both the private and public factories in the region and if we don’t move with speed to address the challenge we shall have a sugar shortage,” Khangati said.
Following the ubiquitous shortages, millers are forced to travel to Uganda to get raw materials for them to remain afloat.
Even so, the transport costs are debilitating, pushing the operation costs up for the cash-strained firms.
The Privatisation Commission in an earlier plan indicated that Muhoroni, Miwani, Sony and Nzoia sugar companies were to be sold to meet Comesa safeguards.
The government, however, changed its tune on the bid to privatise the five sugar firms – albeit after protests by Western leaders who opposed the move.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said the state would heed calls by farmers for a leasing model instead of privatisation.
President Ruto said with the privatisation option for the state-owned millers dropped, the debts will be written off as part of long-term plans for the industry.
“I want you to know that it will not be privatised, land will remain property to Kenyans but we will plan to ensure it benefits Kenyans. We have spent more than Sh4 billion that goes into the drain but this time we want to do it differently,” the President said in Kakamega on June 18.
Several bailouts by the government have failed to turn around the millers’ fortunes.
Nabulindo exuded confidence that the kitty by millers would go a long way to helping stabilise the mills.
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