Farmers’ joy as Sony Sugar pays Ksh306 million historical debt
By Kepher Otieno, July 29, 2024South Nyanza Sugar Company (Sony Sugar) has now cleared all farmers’ arrears, after the management disbursed Sh306 million to offset cane growers’ historical debts.
According to the firm’s Managing Director, Martine Dima , the Government released Sh181 million to pay off historical debts owed to the farmers.
The management also paid Sh125 million owed to farmers for cane delivered to the factory in the month of June this year thus clearing the backlog of debts owed to growers.
“We are happy as a management of great efforts made to clear the farmer’s outstanding debts. We now want to make sure that we pay promptly after deliveries,’’ said Dima
They are now remaining with the month of July, which already they have started processing the payments running into over Sh100 million.
The state had promised to clear the outstanding farmer’s arrears amounting to Sh685 million in two phases. The first had been paid and the Sh125 million was the balance.
Payment period
Addressing press at Sony Sugar stand during this year’s Kisumu Regional ASK show, he said they aim at reducing the waiting payment period after cane is delivered to them.
It scooped the best agribusiness, manufacturers, and best sugar industry awards as well as second best trade and climate change innovations exhibitor.
Dima and Sony Sugar Company Board of Directors led by Chairman Jared Kopiyo revealed that the firm was now back on the path to growth after years of loss making
Over the last two years, the company had been facing an acute shortage of cane supplies from the farmer’s field. This had seen its daily production output decline significantly.
This is after some of the farmers opted to reduce acreage on cane due to delayed payments.
Consequently, Sony sugar was forced to mill less cane per ton than its installed capacity.
Rather than mill about 3,000 tons of cane per day, it was milling between 1300 to 1500 tons of cane per day thus grossly affecting their income turn over.
But now, with the industry steadily regaining its financial foothold after it started to offset the debts, cane farmers are back in growing the crop on a large scale.
“We are receiving steady cane supplies and we have now been able to improve daily production per ton from the current, 1500 to 2300 tcd on the upward trend,’’ he said
Kopiyo and the Board of Directors Mary Kopot thanked President William Ruto for making good his promise to disburse money to offset cane farmers backlog arrears.
But Dima disclosed that the company whose milling plant was installed in 1976 was still facing the challenge of operating and old machinery.
The current milling plant efficiency had declined thus affecting the production output as they were forced to constantly repair its old parts, which was expensive.