Proposed rules on cane zoning to tame rampant poaching

The government is seeking to revive ailing sugar millers one more time by toughening rules on cane zoning in a bid to sustain supply to factories

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri, on a tour of western region, said this will deal with poaching of sugarcane that has often been blamed for the frequent shutdown of government-owned factories.

Mr Kiunjuri told an audience last week the new policies and regulations on the sugar sector will be published on Friday this week. He made the announcement at Bukura Agricultural College in Kakamega County during a graduation ceremony.

In the proposed rules, millers will be penalised for failing to harvest their contracted farmers' cane at the stipulated time. Monthly, the delay will attract a penalty of 1.5 per cent of the calculated value of the affected cane and an interest at the market rates.

The same will apply to millers who harvest immature cane without the farmers' consent. The miller will be required to compensate the growers.

HUGE DEBTS

The CS said consultations were ongoing with governors from cane growing zones in western Kenya to address the huge debts, amounting to Sh80 billion, to turn around the millers' fortunes. The debts have pushed the operations of the millers, including Mumias Sugar, Muhoroni, Sony and Chemelil, to the edge.

Representatives of sugarcane farmers have welcomed the move, saying it will restore order in the sector and steer it back to prosperity.

Kenya Sugarcane Growers Association Chairman Ibrahim Juma said the new policies and regulations were long overdue. “We have been provided with a draft of the regulations and fully support the document since it will ensure farmers benefit after investing in sugarcane farming,” said Mr Juma.

With county governments in sugar belts demanding a role in the running of millers, the proposed regulations seem to have ceded this ground.

The proposed laws indicate that the specific zones designated for millers will be created in consultation with county governments and farmers based on the milling capacity and crop productivity.

ZONING

The issue of zoning and licensing has crippled state-owned factories as they fail to compete with millers in their locality. For example, Mumias has had to compete, and often lost to, privately-owned West Kenya, which offers lucrative contracts to farmers.

Sony, Chemelil and Nzoia are other factories in western region who have also lamented about the closeness of private millers to their zones. Ideally, there should be a radius of 70km between one miller and another, but this rule has not been adhered to.

The Directorate of Sugar will coordinate activities of individuals and organisations within the industry including the establishment of committees of growers and millers.

REGULATE EXPORTS

It will regulate exports and imports and by-products of sugar. It has been proposed that growers and millers be included in the export and import of sugar to guard against shortages and promote stability in the domestic market.

Other issues captured in the draft include licensing of millers and cane pricing.

The sugar directorate “will facilitate mechanism for pricing” of sugarcane and negotiations for equitable distributions of the proceeds of sugar and its by-products between growers and millers.

Mr Kiunjuri said a petition had been presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta after consultations with governors for a waiver of the Sh80 billion debt owed by the millers.

“We need to have the factories run in a transparent and accountable manner,” he said.