The Kenya Sugarcane Growers Association (KSGA) has called for reduction of the number of staff in the factories. KSGA secretary general Richard Ogendo also demanded for immediate change of distribution channels in what they say will help reduce production costs that have escalated in the recent past. “Some factories have retained people that are no longer useful. Farmers now want those workers that no longer make sense in the payroll be removed and others brought in,” he said in Kisumu. Ogendo, who was meeting farmers from Kisumu region for consultations, said that for factories to be productive there was need to ensure that every worker produced maximally. “There is no need to have 800 workers when a private sugar factory of the same capacity only has 300 workers. What are the 500 doing?” he asked. He gave an example of Chemelil Sugar factory, which he claimed has 800 workers but was worse than saying Kibos Sugar with just 300 workers. He added that the best way to solve the problem was to have a distribution channel devoid of middlemen to avoid ‘ridiculous charges’ that they demand. “The factories should take their processed sugar direct from their plants to the shelves of supermarkets and retailers and stop insisting on using channels that they know do not help,” he said. Mr Ogendo said farmers have suffered for long because of being paid only on weight-based systems. “We have started lobbying to be paid based on sucrose content and not just based on weight. This way, farmers benefit more from their produce,” he said. Ogendo said that the only way for the farmers to get that amount was if a new formula of payment was started. The new formula, he explained, was going to take effect after sucrose testing kits were brought into the system.

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