Cane farmers in Kwale County gear up for sh66 million pay as KISCOL revives plant

Kwale International Sugar Company Ltd, February 7, 2019. [File, Standard]

The Sugar cane farmers in Kwale County are set to receive Sh66 million in outstanding arrears as Kwale International Sugar Company Limited (KISCOL) gears up for reopening after nine years of closure.

The release of the money is aimed at restoring confidence among cane farmers and encouraging them to resume planting after several farmers abandoned sugar cane farming.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe told the farmers that a multi-agency committee has been formed to verify the qualified cane suppliers to be compensated.

Kagwe said the revival is expected to reduce Kenya's dependence on imported sugar by increasing domestic production while creating a stable market for local cane farmers.

"The revival is set to restore thousands of jobs, revive sugarcane farming across the Coast region and inject billions of shillings into the local economy," said Kagwe.

The committee will be led by Kenya Sugar Board, Kwale County Government, investors, farmers, security agencies and local leaders and will be charged with resettlement of 15,000 squatters occupying 7,000 acres of the factory's land, many of whom are also part of the local farming community.

The payout covers the local out grower farmers contracted by KISCOL to deliver cane but were never compensated before operations ground to a halt in 2018 after the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) abruptly shut down the factory and seized its sugar over compliance claims.

However, KISCOL successfully sued KEBS, with the High Court declaring the closure illegal, allowing the miller to briefly resume operations.

In 2022, KISCOL was faced with escalated legal and leased-land battles with the state, forcing it to shut for 20 months. The sugar manufacturers were later awarded Sh24 billion in 2025 by Justice Florence Macharia over the said breach of land lease by the government on the 15,000 acres.

Kagwe said KISCOL remains one of the country's most strategic sugar investments that possess modern milling infrastructure, an extensive irrigated nucleus estate and a large out-grower network capable of transforming the economy of Kenya's Coast region  once operations resume.

"At full capacity, the integrated sugar complex has the potential to mill thousands of tonnes of cane every day, supporting tens of thousands of direct and indirect livelihoods across farming, transport, mechanical services, irrigation, input supply, retail trade and manufacturing," said Kagwe.

He said that beyond producing sugar, the factory has the capacity to stimulate value addition through molasses, ethanol production, electricity co-generation from bagasse and other downstream industries, significantly expanding economic activity in Kwale and neighbouring counties.

Kagwe acknowledged that KISCOL's challenges extend beyond financing, citing land disputes, cane shortages, vandalism, delayed farmer payments and insecurity as key issues requiring coordinated intervention.

He also urged residents to protect sugarcane farms and irrigation infrastructure, warning that the burning of cane fields and vandalism of pipelines only prolong the suffering of farmers and delay economic recovery.

"If successfully revived, KISCOL is expected to become a major economic anchor for the Coast region, revitalising agriculture, attracting fresh investment, creating employment opportunities for young people and strengthening Kenya's drive toward greater sugar self-sufficiency while stimulating growth across multiple sectors of the regional economy," said Kagwe.