KSB to Regulate Importation of Sugar to Safeguard Local Production

BY WAKHUNGU ANDANJE

The newly formed Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) has been urged to ensure sugar importation is limited to save the local farmers from exploitation.

The calls were put across by cane farmers in Western region of Kakamega North sub county during a public participation on the sugar imports and exports) 2025 under the sugar Act 2024 draft.

The act which is being deliberated upon before the proposals being presented for discussion in parliament and later to be implemented was brought before the public to allow them to deliberate on it before either expunging or rectifying certain grey areas.

The Kenya sugar board official Engineer Richard Magero, who was accompanied by legal practitioners Eve Mbetha representing the office of the cabinet secretary ministry of agriculture and livestock development and Andrew Osodo Kenya sugar board (KSB), stated that the act was enacted on 21st November 2024 after which they carried out regulations on the act to have it operational within six months.

The panel was told that it should adopt the import and export regulations that have proposed harsh penalties to those importers who flaunt the sugar act. The public further asked the Kenya sugar board to be on the side of the grower and not the miller when it comes to matters sugar importation.

“We as farmers we have problems with the importation of sugar by the barons and this has been the elephant in the house as it has continued to flood the local market with cheap imported sugar selling at a throw away price.”

They expressed hope that with the coming of the new Kenya sugar board (KSB), the board should be able to strictly regulate and control the sugar importation The farmers also criticized the local repackaging of sugar by supermarkets as it was one way of encouraging illegal importations.

“It is the cabinet secretary for agriculture and livestock development Mutahi Kagwe under section 21 of the act to make regulations that are subjected to public participation hence our meeting here over the same after which the views collected here will be taken to parliament through the committee on legislation who will give out their recommendations ” said Magero.

The Butali sugarcane out growers association chairman William Kopi before presenting the farmers memorandum of understanding to the board hailed the reintroduction of the sugar board as it will safeguard the interests of the grower and streamline the industry back to its sanity.

“We need to have just one apex body Kenya sugar board (KSB), to defend the farmer to avoid confusion. We wrote to the board between 2013/14 requesting for the construction of 24 bridges within the catchment area and they did 12 and before they could complete the remaining, the board was disbanded and enjoined in agriculture and food authority (AFA)”.

It is our belief that before the final enactment of the draft it will be brought back to us from scrutiny and approval to see if the interests of the farmers have been captured fully and we have also presented our memorandum to you for your consideration” he said.

The board was also called upon to ensure contaminated sugar is not dumped into the country that endangers the lives of the consumers countrywide.

The farmers from Nandi and Mosop also called for their considerations where they should be allowed to have a public participation in their region as well as the board opening up a road to assist them supply canes to Butali which is near to them than their current one.

Reacting to the raised concerned the Kenya sugar board official stated that a multi-agency committee consisting of the Kenya sugar board (KSB), Kenya revenue authority (KRA), Kenya bureau of standards (KEBS), and other security apparatus will be put in place to nab the border smuggling of sugar that is ferried by Boda boda and Probox vehicles into the country.

"Our main mandate here is to implement this sugar act and once in place it will seal all the loop holes that leads to the illegal sugar importation trade". 

On the sugar (general) regulations 2025, the farmers were suggested that they be paid for the byproducts that comes from the raw materials (canes) supplied from his harvest that includes bagasse, fertilizer and briquettes.

They also unanimously refuted under the registration of growers where it stated that all grower should register his canes with a miller and failure by him to submit the canes to the miller if registered is liable to a fine of Ksh.1Million or a jail term not less than one year or both.

They however agreed that they be allowed to supply canes to factories within their catchment areas which is Upper western that encompasses Butali, Nzoia and Naitiri mills.

The legal team from the cabinet secretary of agriculture stated that the document was to benefit the farmer from the act.