Sugarcane farmers have appealed to President William Ruto to intervene in what they describe as the capture of Kenya’s sugar industry by powerful cartels, warning they will stage nationwide protests if reforms under the Sugar Act, 2024, are not implemented.
Speaking after a meeting of the Federation of Sugarcane Farmers in Kisumu on Monday, the farmers said delays in implementing the law were denying growers a greater role in managing the sector.
The federation’s Secretary General, Kilion Osur, said the meeting reviewed the state of the industry, which he said had shown little progress despite repeated government promises to revive it.
He acknowledged President Ruto for signing the Sugar Act No. 11 of 2024 into law, saying it restored the Kenya Sugar Board and provided for elected farmer representatives from the country’s five sugar catchment areas to sit on its board.
However, Osur said the election of those representatives had stalled because of court cases.He accused unnamed milling sector cartels of frustrating the process.
“These legal hurdles are not caused by farmers. They are being driven by cartels in the milling sector who do not want farmers to elect their representatives,” he said.
Osur warned that cane farmers across the country were planning demonstrations on 12 August unless the government provided a clear roadmap for the elections.
Federation chairman Ezra Olodi alleged that some MPs, working with the Ministry of Agriculture, were seeking to amend the Sugar Act before it had been fully implemented.He questioned why changes were being proposed before farmers had benefited from the legislation.
“We still have the 2010 Constitution, and nobody has called for its amendment. This is a new Act that has not even been fully implemented. Why amend it before farmers enjoy its benefits?” he said.
Olodi said farmers would carry sugarcane during the planned protests to highlight their grievances.
The federation also opposed proposed changes that would allow the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture to appoint Kenya Sugar Board directors instead of having them elected by farmers, as provided for in the Act.
It further criticised the Crops Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, arguing that it would reverse gains made under the Sugar Act.
The Bill proposes transferring responsibility for state-backed agricultural lending from the Kenya Sugar Board to the proposed Kenya Agribusiness Development Corporation (KADCO).
Osur said the changes would divert money raised through the Sugar Development Levy away from the sugar sector.
“The levy was established to support the sugar industry. Taking those funds to KADCO would take us backwards,” he said.
John Ole Kararam, who represents farmers from Trans Mara, said growers would oppose any move to replace elected board members with presidential or ministerial appointees.
“Appointed directors will serve the appointing authority, not the farmers,” he said.
Federation women’s representative Philister Oduya accused individuals benefiting from sugar imports of creating uncertainty in the sector.
She said industries such as tea, coffee and dairy had continued to grow while sugar remained mired in disputes.
“We have been taken round and round over the election of Kenya Sugar Board directors. We are tired,” she said.
Thomas Choge, representing farmers from Nandi County, urged President Ruto to protect the implementation of the Sugar Act, saying it was intended to improve the livelihoods of cane growers.
He said any amendments should only be considered after public participation.
“The schemes we are seeing are being driven by people who want to continue importing sugar. We ask President Ruto not to allow the industry, which supports many families in western Kenya, to collapse because of the interests of a few individuals,” he said.
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