Sony Sugar pays high price for arson tactics, says Board

MIGORI: The South Nyanza Sugar Company is losing close to Sh100 million annually due to cane arson.

Sony Sugar Company Board of Directors has subsequently asked farmers to stop burning their cane so as to compel the miller to harvest the crop.

The firm accused some farmers of resorting to burning their mature crop to force the miller to harvest their produce promptly. Company managers said the trend was common in the dry season hence the slow processing of cane and interference with the harvest programme. Speaking to The Standard in Kisumu, Sony Director Mwita Nyangi assured farmers that the miller would promptly harvest their cane and urged them not to use dirty tactics.

"We want to implore our contracted farmers to be patient as we do everything possible to harvest the cane on schedule," he pleaded.

Several cane farmers had complained to the management that the harvest programme was not being followed to the letter. They also pointed out that some areas of the farm were being left to rot.

The farmers' concerns were raised by officials of the Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers. The federation superintendents were led by their co-ordinator, Joshua Olieng, and Secretary Argwengs Adongo. They included branch chairmen John Omolo, Jeconia Orony, James Otieno, Domnic Apiyo, Samwel Obuu and Richard Odoyo.

The leaders claimed that in some sugarcane growing areas, it took more than 30 months before the miller harvested while the crop was supposed to take only 18 months until harvest time.

Sony Sugar managers promised to resolve the concerns amicably and strictly follow the harvest schedules to forestall any more protests. Sony Managing Director Jane Odhiambo explained that the challenges were occasioned by cane poaching.

"Other issues that prompted unscheduled harvesting include weather changes and poor roads," she said, adding that when it rained heavily, some of the roads leading to the cane farms were rendered impassable.

The company also acknowledged that it was currently faced with a temporary over-supply of cane, which forced them to operate below budget. Currently, Sony has 1,492 hectares of mature cane above 30 months compared to 1,138 hectares recorded in October 2015. Some 1,760 hectares of farmland has cane aged between 24 and 29 months compared to 2,197 hectares last October. Only 10,355 hectares of cane is 23 months and below.

Sony Sugar aims to grow its transport fleet to 147 vehicles to facilitate transportation of over-mature cane without affecting its normal programme.