The Kenya Sugar Board has launched guidelines which will be used by farmers and other industry players moving forward.
The document known as Kenya Sugar Industry Growers Guide enumerates how farmers will go about their activities in order to ramp up production. It comes barley a month after President William Ruto assented the Sugar Bill into a law.
The Bill will address the challenges that have crippled the once vibrant and profitable industry, a vital source of livelihood for many farmers.
The Bill enables the re-establishment of the Kenya Sugar Board, the creation of the Kenya Sugar Research and Training Institute, and the implementation of the Sugar Development Levy.
These measures are set to strengthen the industry by boosting production, enhancing milling efficiency, aligning capacity with cane supply, promoting value addition, and providing critical funding to benefit all stakeholders.
The Kenya Sugar Board will be empowered to regulate, develop, and promote the sugar industry, coordinate stakeholders, participate in policy-making, and collaborate with government and research institutions.
Speaking during the launch of the guide in Kisumu, Kenya Sugar Board Chairman Nicholas Gumbo said the guide will take into account factors such as soil quality and research.
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Gumbo who was flanked by the acting KSB CEO Jude Chesire and a board member Samuel Ongowa, said it will also factor in seed types and modern farming methods. He said millers will not be left behind in the new guidelines.
Gumbo said cane processing will have to be diversified like in countries such as India, Brazil and Canada. “We want cane farmers to realize the most from their activities like in other countries” he said.
Already Gumbo had said that the board has an App which can be used by farmers and other stakeholders to get the required information on sugar. The chairman said cane should not be used to produce sugar alone.
Earlier on, Chesire had said that they are out to modernize cane farming in order for them to conform to changing trends. They will now be using drones for mapping and spraying as a means of improving activities. Ongowa said farmers will have a bigger representation in the affairs of sugar management in the country.
By Fredrick Odiero
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