Relief for sugarcane farmers as new mill is planned for Siaya
By Steve Umidha, March 16, 2022INCOME: Sugar farmers in Western Kenya are set to benefit from the planned construction of a multi-million-shilling sugar factory in Siaya county through improved incomes.
National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) has announced the construction of Seal Sugar Millers Ltd in Siaya in the latest Kenya gazette notice.
“The Seal Sugar Millers Ltd proposes to construct a factory budding, install equipment and machinery for sugarcane processing with an initial capacity of 1,250 metric tonnes of cane per day that will be expanded to 2,500 metric tonnes,” said Nema director-general Mamo B Mamo in a gazette notice.
The construction involves workshops, administrative offices, cane yard, weighbridge, powerhouse, sugar house, effluent treatment and recycling plan.
Molasses tanks
Others are molasses tanks, agriculture offices, staff houses, access roads and bagasse stores and others.
The project shall be located on Segere-Ambira road within the Boro area in Alego Usonga Sub-county of Siaya.
Establishment of the factory means demand for cane will increase as millers scramble for the limited supply helping to increase income for farmers. There has been an increase in new sugar factories due to failed traditional millers and rising demand for sugar across the country.
Kenya currently has almost 15 sugar millers with new additions such as Busia Sugar, Kwale International and many more.
This proliferation of millers has seen the emergence of poaching as millers seek cane to feed their grinders to the benefit of farmers.
Annual demand
According to Kenya Sugar Directorate, the annual demand for sugar in Kenya as of 2018 was estimated to be 1,012,399 tonnes while the production was at 491,097 tonnes and the 51.49 per cent discrepancy arises due to the inefficiencies in sugar production in the country.
The high cost of production and inputs such as fertiliser and lack of sufficient irrigation systems has left Kenyan farmers at the mercy of Uganda’s cane producers who are selling their cane to Kenyan millers.
Lack of government support and extension services have seen Kenyan farmers unable to up their output hence yield per acre remains very low. Kenya is still under pressure by Comesa to open up the sugar market for exports by other countries after years of extensions to protect local millers.