This archive report was first published on 10 June 2020.
On June 10, 2020, the Kenyan government gazetted new rules to revive sugarcane growers associations and streamline their operations. The Subsidiary Sugar Crop Regulations, 2020, published by the Kenya Sugar Directorate, are designed to comply with the Sugar Task Force Report.
The new rules will enable out-growers to negotiate better terms of supply of sugarcane to millers and coordinate the production, harvesting, and transport of sugarcane. They will also provide financial credit or arrange for financing of growers for land clearance, preparation, and planting, as well as cultivation, harvesting, transport, and assistance.
Out-grower institutions that fail to comply with the new rules will face a fine of Sh500,000 and their officials may face imprisonment for one year. The regulations come at a time when most out-growers associations have either been placed under receivership or have stopped operations.
Welcoming the new rules, Saulo Busolo, chair of the Kenya National Alliance of Sugarcane Farmers Association, said, “We welcome the idea because it will strengthen the voices of farmers which have, in the past, been muzzled by the millers.”
