Cane miller rivalry wafting across the western sugar belt

What you need to know:

  • Dispute reverberates across expansive sugar zone with 40,000 growers as a miller battles to stop the licensing of second factory

Cane farmers in the western Kenya sugar zone have been caught up in the midst of a raging controversy triggered by a dispute over licensing of a second sugar factory in Kakamega North district.

For the last four months, the dispute has reverberated across the expansive sugar zone with close to 40,000 growers as a miller battles to stop the licensing of a second factory by the Kenya Sugar Board.

The zone is served by the privately run West Kenya Sugar Company, whose management is opposed to the decision to licence Butali Sugar Mills to operate in its backyard.

The West Kenya Sugar management argues the licensing of the miller would flout a provision in Sugar Act which requires 24 kilometres distance be kept between millers.

The rivalry between the two sugar millers is being played out in court with the officials of the sugar board saying their hands are tied over licensing of the miller.

Butali Sugar might have sighed with relief on December 1, when Kisumu High Court Judge Justice Joseph Karanja ordered the KSB to “forthwith issue an operating licence to Butali to commence milling sugar at its plant.

But the ruling only appears to have served to fuel confusion and acrimony that is at the centre of the controversy on the delayed licensing of Butali.

In his ruling, the judge argued that the board had failed to produce sufficient evidence to show Butali was not qualified for operating licence.

The KSB says it is unable to make a final decision on the matter due to an earlier court injunction filed at the Mlimani Court in Nairobi by West Kenya Sugar.

West Kenya have obtained temporal orders restraining the sugar board from issuing a licence to Butali Sugar. The board said it would maintain the status quo while seeking help of the Court of Appeal on the conflicting rulings.

The pent up emotions appeared to bubble over after cane farmers pushing for the licensing of Butali held a demonstration Malava township last week.

The farmers vented their frustrations by blocking motorists along the busy Malava-Webuye road and disrupting court proceedings at the nearby Butali law courts.

At one point, the a group of farmers descended on a field office belonging to the West Kenya sugar, smashing car windows and destroying documents.

The growers later converged at the DC’s officer demanding that the sugar board proceeds to issue an operating licence to Butali “within the next 48 hours.”

But the Kakamega North DC Mr Gideon Ombongi explained that the matter was subject of a court case which could be resolved if the parties were ready to “open dialogue and possibly seek an out of court settlement.”

The Western Provincial Commissioner Mr Samuel Kilele, accompanied by the security team toured the district after the demonstrations to assess the situation.

The visit came in the wake of reports indicating a group of youths were planning to disrupt cane supply to West Kenya to paralyse the firm’s operations.

The Butali Sugar Outgrowers chairman Mr William Kopi told the Nation by phone after the KSB meeting in Nairobi last week that he was optimistic the millers would agree to meet and look at the available options to have the matter settled in the interest of farmers.

“We are hoping for some positive news for cane growers in Kabras in the next two weeks because what is happening is hurting farmers,” he said.

Growers contracted to Butali argue the licensing of the factory will create a healthy competition, and improve payments to benefit farmers in the zone.

West Kenya sugar stepped up the crushing capacity of its mills from 1,500 tonnes per day to nearly 3,500 and has been grappling with a cane shortage reported in the zone in the last eight months.

The shortage forced the miller to harvest cane from farms in Migori to sustain their operations.

A report prepared by researchers from Kenya Sugar Research Foundation and the sugar board indicates that the zone could be badly hit by a cane shortage due to declining yields brought about by use of poor seed material and failure by farmers to apply inputs.

The rivalry by the two millers is likely to set a stage for a scramble of available cane in the zone and trigger shortages if a proper cane development programme is not put in place.

There will be an 18 per cent deficit of cane, a scenario that could disrupt normal operations by sugar millers.

According to the report, 5,707,483 tonnes of cane will be available for crushing against a demand of 6,958,483.73 tonnes for 2010/2011 period.

A cane survey carried out in the western sugar zone comprising Mumias, Busia, West Kenya and Butali showed an average cane yield of 66.51 tonnes of cane per hectare.

Some 2,630,800 tonnes of cane were available for crushing in the zone for 2009/2010 but this year is projected to a difficult year for the miller due to the shortage.

The report has recommended that boundaries for each sugar cane zone should be clearly defined to minimize disputes among millers over poaching of cane.

West Kenya has been carrying out a recruitment of farmers from Lugari, Matete and Ndivisi in Bungoma East district to expand its catchment.