By MN Reporter

Sukari Industries in Ndhiwa Homa Bay is planning to increase their sugar milling capacity from the current 3,000 tonne per day to over 4,500 tonnes in a bid to mop out unhravested sugarcane from farms.

David Okoth, the General Manager admitted that many farmers have over mature cane adding with the company struggling to clear them out.

“Our cane harvesting plan was interfered with by the long rains experienced last year which affected the plan to harvest a total of 540,000 tonnes,” he said.

He added that they have “bought 85 new tractors that will help in transportation and we are asking farmers to be patient.”

This comes after sugarcane farmers from South Nyanza region complained over delayed harvesting of their produce by millers.

Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Sony branch secretary Argwengs Adongo said the problem is faced across all 16 millers in the country.

“Farmers are not able to pay school fees because the cane which they depend on has stayed on the farms for over three years and when they ask for their cane to be harvested nobody bothers to take action leading to produce drying in the farm,” said Adongo 

Adongo asked the government to move with speed and save the farmers, adding that proper regulations should be enacted to protect the interests of the farmers.