Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
UNCALLED for and unwarranted cut throat in competition in he price of row cane as well as undercutting and undermining of each other is likely to force several sugar factories operating in the Nyanza Sugar Belt to close down.
One of the factories, Chemelil Sugar Company, which is believed to be the best managed and the most vibrant facility has already sacked close to 100 f its workers as a result of the acute shortage of mature cane currently being experienced in the region.
In the past few months, Chemelil has reported experiencing acute shortage of cane within its cane harvesting zone, prompting to operate below its capacity.
The company’s Public Relations manager Salim Bakari said the factory had been forced to operate for only three days a week since they have to accumulate cane for two days to have the amount required for the week’s production.
He said when the situation was ideal, Chemelil factory used to run for 24 hours a day throughout the week and only close for one day maintenance a week, but the cane shortage has brought about a very grave situation,” said Bakari.
Under the normal conditiond, Chemeil factory has a production capacity of f about 3,000 tones of sugar per day, but this had now dropped to only 1,000 tons and could even be less in some instances.
The shortage has come about s the result of poor planning on he pat of the government, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture. Out of the four sugar factories situated within Nyanza sugar belt in Nyando and Kisumu districts, one of them the Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries has got no nucleus estate of its own to ensure for uninterrupted harvesting throughout the year, and depends entirely on the out growers scattered in the Kano plains and along the Nandi escarpment.
And once the mature cane in the areas mentioned is exhausted this firm resorted to hawking and poaching harvesting system, even at time poaching for cane from the zones of Chemelil and Muhoroni sugar companies.
Another problem, which need to be urgently resolved by the relevant authorities, is the question of one sugar company trespassing and poaching the mature cane from the zones of the other, particularly the cane crops which were developed with cash loan from one factory, and the money which could only be recovered if the farmer in question delver the cane to the factory that had given him money for cane development. When the cane is delivered to another factory which did not spent even a cent for its development, this hurt the company which was involved in cane development with its money. It cannot recover the money it had loaned to the farmers who deliver his cane t another factory.
Several harmonization meetings have been called and held at the various paces to sensitize the farmers over the need to respect the loan agreements they had signed with the various factories, but all in vain. Those involved in the poaching are arguing that since the industry is liberalized cane farmers were free to sell their crops to whoever is paying them well and promptly. Liberalization, however, is a not a license that one can behave like a rough bull of buffalo and be immunized from paying back cane development loans money.
Among the three factories, which are currently operational within the Nyanza sugar belt, Kibos factory pays Kshs 4200per tone of row cane, while Chemelil pay Kshs 3,750 and Muhoroni is paying Kshs 3,200 per tone. This is what has prompted the cut-throat price competition.
However, rumor is widely spread that some factories could be offering incentive prices, while fleecing cane farmers through the alleged technical adjusted weighbridge. The Ministry f Trade which is responsible for Wight and Measures department, should therefore move with the speed and ensure that all weighbridge used for transacting farmers cane are up-date and without stage managed faults.
A government auditors report about 15 years ago had revealed that SONYSUGAR Company based at Awendo in Migori County had fleeced the cane farmers close to Kshs 210 million in ten years by way of using default weighbridge. This shameless theft was discovered and the company workers who were involved in the scam fired.
This is to say when a farmer delivers 10 tones of cane to the weighbridge, it is technically adjusted to read either eight {8} tons or less. In this cane the farmer loses two ton valued at Kshs 7,600—compared to hundred f farmers who do delivers thousands of row cane to the factory in a day, it could translate into million of shillings within a month.
It is the duty and responsibility of the government to protect the small farmers from being fleeced millions of shillings due to their ignorance. Therefore there is some elements of suspicion the cane famer may be subjected to cheatings through weighbridges hence the booming prices of cane unless the government agencies involved with weight and measure print its authorities on this issue by ensuring that each and every weighbridge transacting cane to he factories are checked at regular intervals.
The government must also come up with a working plan to demarcate cane growing zones for each and every factory. In some places the investors are known to be floating the rules and regulations set by the Sugar Act that a new sugar factory must be established at a place which is more than 40 kilometers from the existing factory to avoid the cut-throat cane price wars now being experienced in the Nyanza sugar belt region of Nyando and Kisumu districts. This is the only sensible way of protecting the workers in the ever ailing sugar industry.
Ends