Opposition chief Raila Odinga has urged the government to give sugarcane farming top priority in its development programmes.
Speaking in Kisumu on Monday after holding a meeting with the Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri and other top western leaders, the former premier assured the residents that he will do his best to ensure the industry is rejuvenated.
He made it clear that sugarcane farming has been the back borne of Nyanza and western Kenya for years.
He said that cartels giving ordinary farmers ample space to practice sugarcane farming.
“Our country has always attached great importance to sugarcane production as a key contributor to the economy. A viable and sustainable sugar industry is vital for the development of Kenya. ‘, he said.
He added that the sector is, therefore, a priority for the country and particularly for western Kenya and that the survival of this industry as a viable enterprise will require exemplary cooperation and understanding between all stakeholders including farmers, millers, the county governments and the national government.
“The international market has become too tough to be tackled by our local farmers by flooding cheap imported sugar in our markets, but I met the cs agriculture recently and we are working on a formula to rectify this’, he added.
The ODM leader was in the company of several politicians and stakeholders from Kisumu and other regions.
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