“We as farmers are against the issue of catchment areas where millers block farmers from selling their produce to the highest bidder, this hurts farmers by waiting for up to four years to have their canes harvested. The miller chases non-contracted farmers as their first priority, let it be known that the zoning issue is not a farmer’s problem and the miller should create a good rapport with farmers if they want to absorb them fully” -Kenya Sugar Cane Growers Association (KESGA) Richard Ochieng Ogendo
By Andanje Wakhungu
www.theweeklyvisionews.net
Cane farmers from the Western Kenya region zone have told a parliamentary committee task-force on agriculture to re-introduce the former Kenya Sugar Board for the benefit of the local farmers. The farmers drawn from 16 cane growing zones in a memorandum presented to the parliamentarians stood their ground by demanding that farmers can only benefit through the sugar board which has their interest at heart.
Led by their national secretary general Kenya Sugar Cane Growers Association (KESGA) Richard Ochieng Ogendo, the team made it clear that it was time cane farmers reaped huge from their produce. “We as farmers are against the issue of catchment areas where millers bar farmers from selling their produce to the highest bidder, this hurts farmers by waiting for up to four years to have their canes harvested. The miller chases non-contracted farmers as their first priority, let it be known that the zoning issue is not a farmer’s problem and the miller should create a good rapport with farmers if they want to absorb them fully”
They also warned some of the MPs who were standing in the way of the committee from approving the reinstating of the Kenya Sugar Board.
