Court suspends 3-month sugarcane harvesting ban

President William Ruto harvests sugar cane during the launch of the issuance of bonuses for sugarcane farmers in Mumias, Kakamega County. [PCS]

The High Court has suspended a Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) directive barring milling companies from buying sugarcane from farmers for three months.

Justice William Musyoka stayed the controversial directive pending the hearing and determination of a case filed by aggrieved cane farmers in the Upper and Lower Western regions.

The farmers filed the suit against KSB, saying its July 8 directive would disadvantage those with mature sugarcane. They argued that KSB had arrived at the decision arbitrarily.

Justice Musyoka also permitted the farmers to apply for orders to quash the directive. The case was filed by Cleophas Okwara and Peter Manyuru and three others.

"That in the meantime, leave do operate as a stay of the decision/directive of the Kenya Sugar Board prohibiting milling companies from purchasing the applicants' mature sugarcane pending hearing and determination of the substantive motion," ordered the court on Thursday.

The petitioners argued that the directive, if enforced, would result in massive financial losses, breach of contract with millers, and potential spoilage of mature cane, leading to economic hardship for farmers already grappling with rising production costs.

They also told the court that the decision to halt milling operations was made arbitrarily and without input from the farmers who stand to suffer the most from the move.

"The applicants seek to challenge the impugned decision on the basis that it is arbitrary, having been arrived at without the input or consultation of the farmers within the affected region," they submitted through their lawyer.

"We expect the Kenya Sugar Board to comply with the court order and for millers to immediately resume harvesting our mature cane," said Manyuru, one of the petitioners from Busia.

Farmers in the affected areas had expressed outrage following the suspension without consulting key stakeholders.

"We hope the directive by the KSB is not intended to create an artificial sugar shortage so that corrupt and greedy individuals can benefit from sugar importation at the expense of suffering farmers," Manyuru added.

Mr. Stephen Ekirapa, a sugarcane farmer in Busia, said all sugarcane on farms across the country was not the same age to give a three-month period.

"I have 3 different 20-acre cane plantation farms across Busia. In total, 60 acres of cane are due for harvest. I wonder how KSB arbitrarily arrived at a three-month suspension," said Ekirapa.

He added, "No research has been done, and farmers were not consulted to establish if we have cane or not. We need money to develop our farms and take our children to school, and that's why we are telling the sugar board and the government that we must be involved before they arrive at these decisions."

According to Moses Emudu, another petitioner, he claimed that most cane farmers in the region are bound by supply contracts with specific milling companies, and the sudden closure of operations would amount to a breach of those legally binding agreements.

"This situation could have been avoided if there had been proper consultations before the decision was made. We were neither involved nor notified. It caught us by surprise," said Emudu.

The Kenya Sugar Board had last month announced a temporary shutdown of milling operations in parts of Western, citing the need to address issues of cane poaching and allow for crop maturity to stabilise supply across the market.

But the decision sparked protests from farmers in Busia, Bungoma, and Kakamega counties, who accused the regulator of favouring powerful cartels and sugar importers while undermining local cane growers.

"They want us to watch our cane rot in the fields while they create room for sugar imports? That's unacceptable," said a cane farmer in Nambale, Busia County.

Kenya Sugar Board Chief Executive Officer Jude Chesire argued that the region is facing an acute shortage of mature sugarcane, with some farmers resorting to harvesting immature cane.

The Board notified affected millers of the impending closure. They included Nzoia Sugar Company, Butali Sugar Mills, West Kenya Sugar Company, Mumias Sugar, and Busia Sugar.

Further, the millers were expected to implement measures that guarantee an uninterrupted production of the important raw material by putting in place reliable cane development plans.