Uriri member of parliament Mark Nyamita has taken a swipe at Deputy President William Ruto for telling cane farmers to quit the trade.
Speaking at a funeral in Awendo, the legislator insisted that his constituents have been eking their livelihood from cane farming and telling them to seek an alternative means was akin to subjecting them to poverty.
Mr Nyamita called on the farmers not to abandon cane farming despite the myriad of challenges facing the sector.
He maintained that residents will not look for an alternative cash crop as earlier advised by the Deputy President when the government stepped in to pay farmers.
"The DP's directive is ill-advised and does not mean good to our farmers, all we should do is to engage all stakeholders in discussing the plight of farmers and find an amicable solution to the stalemate faced by our sugar mills. We will still continue milling sugar and capitalise on the by-products instead of looking for an alternative crop," Nyamita said.
He urged farmers to protect their source of livelihood from cartels who may want to take advantage of the sector exuding confidence that farmers would be paid in the next one week as earlier directed by the government.
South Nyanza Sugar Company, a state-owned miller, owes farmers in the region huge sums of money in accumulated arrears for the cane delivered to the company.
Last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the ministry of agriculture to clear the farmers' dues, although the money is yet to be remitted to farmers.
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