Sugarcane farmers want Regulation of sugar industry scrapped.

  A section of sugarcane farmers follow proceedings during today's meeting where they have resolved that issue of regulating sugar industry should be scrapped-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo.

By Dickson Odhiambo.

February 22, 2019.

Sugarcane farmers want Regulation of sugar industry scrapped.

SUGARCANE Farmers across the country now want the Government scrap the regulation of Sugar Industry.

Through the National Sugarcane Farmers Task force, the farmers want this to be done through completely deregulating it by deletion of sugarcane from the first schedule of the Crops Act 2013.

Addressing the press in Kisumu during a meeting on Independent Assessment of the Kenya Sugar 

Industry public participation, the National Sugarcane Farmers Taskforce Chairman Saulo Busolo said the farmers have also resolved not to want the issue of zoning of sugarcane areas.

He says the farmers have also resolved that there is no merger of sugar factories and that the long delayed draft crops {Sugar} General Regulations be totally discarded.

The sugarcane farmers further want the issue of privatization of state owned sugar millers be completed and more active support for current and potential private investors.

“Farmers want as many sugar factories open and able to compete for their cane as possible to avoid a situation where they are tied to a mill that is unable to pay for or process their cane,” they say.

They further say they have suffered too long from the inefficiencies of the government owned mills and prefer dealing with the private sector.

“Those dealing with private millers had issues but no significant payment delays,” they say.

The farmers also say support is really needed to clear legal issues around Miwani, Busia and Ramisi and the Government organizations like the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Kenya Bureau of Standards hve farmers in mind when they close the sugar factories down or freeze their accounts.

They further want the issue of rampant corruption within the sugar industry be addressed, adding that they welcome the recent government’s decision to pay off the debts owned by the state owned sugar millers to sugarcane farmers but those who have been engaged in corruption within the Industry should not be left scot-free.

The farmers also say they want to engage Government and the recently formed sugar taskforce, adding that they would like to present their views to, and initiate an ongoing dialogue with the Government Task force on sugar.

ENDS: