- Muhoroni mill processes 1,400 tonnes of cane daily after repairs.
- Farmers are now receiving payments within a week.
- Revival is restoring livelihoods and business in the region.
Muhoroni’s sugar economy is showing signs of recovery, with the local mill now processing about 1,400 tonnes of cane a day and farmers being paid within a week of delivering their crop, reviving business for growers, transporters and traders across the region.
Muhoroni Sugar Company resumed milling on June 6, 2026, after a six-week shutdown for targeted repairs to ageing machinery, according to General Manager James Oluoch. The company is now monitoring how the equipment performs before carrying out further maintenance later in the year.
The state-owned mill was leased to a private investor last year and renamed Muhoroni Sugar Company 2025 Limited. It had struggled for years with under-investment and operational challenges, and Oluoch said some sections of the factory still needed attention even after the investor’s initial maintenance programme.
Before the recent repairs, the factory had gone almost four months without operating and was in a poor state, Oluoch said. The investor first carried out an extensive maintenance programme before restarting operations, then followed up with repairs targeting areas that had not been adequately addressed.
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A further shutdown is planned for the October rains, when the company expects to work on the boilers, mills and cane preparation section to address remaining problem areas.
Farmers now paid within a week
The mill’s return has also improved payment timelines for farmers, with growers supplying cane now paid within a week of delivery.
“We are paying all the farmers that bring cane within one week. The business and local community are happy because there is a lot of money circulation,” Oluoch said.
He said the revival had increased economic activity in the area and kept young people engaged in sugarcane farming, which he linked to a reduction in crime locally.
Community says livelihoods depend on the mill
For residents, the reopening means more than the return of an industrial plant. Odhiambo Ngesa, a farmer and transporter who has followed the sugar industry’s fortunes since the factory was established in the 1960s, said Muhoroni’s economy was closely tied to the mill’s fate.
He recalled the closure of the nearby Miwani mill as the industry’s low point, when people lost their livelihoods, and said Muhoroni had faced a similar risk before the government’s decision to lease the factory to a private investor changed its trajectory.
The arrival of the new investor brought noticeable improvements for farmers, transporters and the wider community, Ngesa said, adding that the mill’s continued operation remains critical to thousands of people who depend on it directly and indirectly.
“Muhoroni life depends on this mill. Even an attempt to change it to a collection centre would be very disastrous because the community has more than 50,000 or 100,000 people depending on this mill, directly and indirectly,” he said.
Ngesa urged the government and other stakeholders to invest further in sugarcane production, warning that an inadequate cane supply could undermine the gains made since the mill’s revival.
He said restoring the factory must go hand in hand with supporting growers to boost production, including through farm development loans, so the mill has enough raw material year-round.
By Benedict Aoya
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