By Standard Reporter
Mumias Sugar Company (MSC) has increased sugar cane producer prices from Sh3,750 to Sh3,825 per tonne. The change takes effect immediately.
The company has also unveiled plans to construct a new multi-billion shillings sugar factory in Busia County before 2014, when the Comesa safeguard on sugar imports from member states to Kenya expires.
The MSC Chief Executive, Peter Kebati said the company has also put in place mechanisms that will ensure farmers supplying cane to the factory are paid on time. “I want to assure our sugar cane farmers that they are going to enjoy the best services because we recognise they are the backbone of our business,” said Kebati.
Kebati said the construct of a sugar processing facility in Busia County will ensure farmers within the Busia sugar belt get closer services and better deals for their crop.
For the last two years the sugar producing counties in the region have been experiencing cane harvesting crisis that is still threatening the survival of the sugar industry in the region
The situation degenerated in to violent confrontation between stakeholders of the sugar industry in the region and representatives of the rival Company.
Contracted farmers
MSC says it has spent billions of shillings in the county on cane development with the farmers who are contracted to it over the years.
In July, MSC announced that it stood to lose more than Sh4 billion in revenue by the end of this financial year if the problem continued to escalate.
Kebati also cautioned farmers against selling their produce to millers who did not have contracts with them since in the long run they were the ones who stood to lose heavily.
He observed that insecurity that had emerged in the area with the cane stealing crisis was being addressed by the Company’s management in collaboration with security organs to ensure that the farmers were not harassed.
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