This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
July 30, 2019
Farmer Frustration Mounts Over Delayed Sugar Task Force Report ¶
Sugarcane farmers from Kakamega County are growing increasingly frustrated over the delayed release of a task force report aimed at addressing challenges in the sugar sub-sector.
The task force, co-chaired by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri and Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, was formed in November 2018 to investigate ways of reviving the sugar industry in the western region.
According to Justin Mutobera, a farmer from Mumias East, the delay in releasing the report is causing confusion among stakeholders in the sector.
"We expected this report to be available within six months. But it is running into a full year yet there is nothing to show. We are getting worried again," Mutobera said.
Simon Wesechere, assistant secretary-general of the Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers, also expressed concern over the delay, saying it may affect the implementation of recommendations aimed at reviving the ailing sector.
Highlights of the report, according to sources, include the privatisation of struggling sugar mills and controls on sugar imports.
Despite agreeing to most of the findings and proposals at a validation meeting in March, farmers remain concerned about the zoning issue, which remains a thorny topic.
