Sugar millers given seven-day notice to pay farmers for delivered cane

The Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) has notified sugar millers nationwide with a seven-day deadline to compensate farmers for the sugarcane they have already delivered to factories. Failure to meet this payment obligation may result in penalties, including accrued interest charges. KSB CEO Jude Chesire emphasized that it is time for farmers to cease enduring indefinite waits for payment after delivering cane.

He underscored that contracts now contain clauses penalizing millers who breach the standard seven-day payment deadline. KSB is also addressing weighbridge malpractices employed by some millers to shortchange farmers, leading to losses of up to three tonnes of cane per trailer. To combat this issue, KSB is procuring mobile weighbridges to independently verify cane weights and enhance enforcement efforts.

The government is concurrently implementing a more stringent enforcement regime to shield growers from exploitation and boost farmers' earnings. It has also invested in cane-testing units, aligning with a payment system that considers sugar quality and content rather than weight alone. Furthermore, millers have been instructed to establish clear cane harvesting procedures by September 10 to streamline harvesting, transportation, and delivery processes, thereby reducing delays that cause mature cane to deteriorate in fields.

These stringent measures to protect farmers come as Kenya's sugar industry shows a notable production recovery, rising from 611,576 metric tonnes last year to 528,875 metric tonnes in the first seven months of 2026. However, Kenya remains deficient in sugar production, with annual demands at 1.2 million metric tonnes against a consumption of 1.216 million metric tonnes last year.

To meet this demand, Kenya imported 477,551 metric tonnes of sugar from COMESA and EAC regions last year. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, through KSB, is also striving to augment cane acreage, improve milling efficiency, enhance value addition, and expand domestic refining capacity to gradually diminish Kenya's reliance on imported sugar.