This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
Published on September 9, 2019, Sony Sugar Company has lost Sh2.3 billion invested in cane development due to cane poaching.
The cash-strapped miller says the recovery process has become untenable, with a majority of its contracted farmers choosing to deliver their cane elsewhere.
According to Managing Director James Oluoch, the company had taken up the matter with the Sugar Directorate in a bid to recover the money, and had also reported the matter to the office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Agriculture.
“We have also reported the matter to the office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Agriculture. They are, however, yet to take action,’’ said Mr Oluoch in an interview.
The company had invested heavily in the cane development initiative to ensure adequate and sustained supply of the raw material, but Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Migori Branch Secretary Argwings Adongo attributed the loss to delayed payments.
“This is because while the cane is to be harvested after 18 months, it sometimes took more than a year,’’ he said.
