Farmers oppose closing of sugar factories in Western region
Sugarcane farmers in the entire sugar belt
are lamenting a directive by the Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA) to
suspend operations in all sugar companies in the country.
Speaking
in Mumias and Matungu, contracted farmers said they’re stranded with mature
cane on their farms, without a market after the closure of millers.
The
farmers said the decision will affect their businesses and lead to losses.
“Miwa
zangu ziko karibu kukatwa, sasa ninashangaa wanapoongeza miezi nne, miwa zangu
zitaenda wapi?” Philis Mukabana, a sugarcane farmer, posed.
Another
farmer, Morris Kudondo, added: “Tukifungiwa miwa sisi watu wa Western, hakuna
cash-crop ingine sisi tunapata…ata mtoto kuenda shule unamwambia miwa zikikua
utaenda secondary.”
The
Authority said the decision was arrived at due to an acute shortage of raw
materials, leading to poaching by other millers.
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