This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
Kenya's sugarcane farmers have welcomed a new set of crop regulations, which they believe will bring much-needed relief to the troubled sector.
The Crops General Regulation 2020, gazetted by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, has abolished the zoning system, allowing farmers to sell their cane to preferred millers.
Previously, cane farmers were required to sell their cane to specific millers within their zones, a system that has been criticized for favoring large-scale millers over small-scale farmers.
KNASFO chairman Saulo Busolo hailed the new regulations, saying they will promote contractual farming and give farmers the freedom to engage with the highest bidders when harvesting their cane.
“This is a major breakthrough for farmers who will no longer be enslaved to non-performing millers. This is what we want. We want our farmers to be free to sell to any miller,” Busolo said.
The regulations have also provided for the establishment of a sugarcane pricing committee to help regulate the price of the sweetener, and the appointment of a stakeholders’ committee to determine the parameters of cane pricing.
According to Busolo, the new regulations will also transform the current payment method, which is based on weight to quality of sucrose in the cane, to a product-quality payment system, which he believes will boost farmers' income.
