Farmers say no to sugarcane zoning

A section of sugarcane farmers have opposed planed changes in law that seek to reintroduce cane zoning.

Cane zoning forces farmers to be tied to a single buyer.

Speaking during a meeting held in Navakholo sub-county on Saturday, the farmers petitioned the Government to drop the idea, and leave them to independently sell their produce to the highest bidder.

A farmer attending the meeting, Nerbet Sifuna, said if zoning is implemented, it will frustrate them.

“Zoning of sugarcane is not a solution to reviving the sector since it will cripple the already ailing industry," said Mr Sifuna.

"It will restrict farmers. Some companies who contract farmers do not pay them well."

Another attendant from Samitsi, John Wafula, said farmers should be allowed to sell their cane to millers who will pay them well and on time.

“Members of Parliament and the county government should not legislate zoning, which contributed to collapse of major companies,” Wafula said.

The draft regulations, now under review by the Ministry of Agriculture's Sugar Industry Taskforce, propose that sugar cane farmers be obliged to sell their produce to specific sugar mills, with a single buyer for each area.