Sugarcane farmers in Nyando Sugarbelt have accused the recently instituted Sugar Directorate of being behind importation of illegal sugar in the country.
Led by the Kenya Sugarcane Growers Association secretary general Richard Ogendo, the farmers say they are getting a raw deal from the government.
Ogendo said farmers toil in their farms but get little returns from their proceeds due to the cheap imports in the market.
He said factories are unable to sell their sugar and that also leads to the delay in payments adding that farmers have been left to fight for themselves when the government, that should be protecting their welfare, is busy licensing illegal sugar imports.
Speaking to the press in Kisumu, Ogendo noted that farmers are getting tired of farming sugarcane and called upon the government to revamp the sector.
He also urged legislators from sugarcane growing areas to stand up and defend the rights of their farmers to be able to reap from their sweats.
But the government has defended importation of more sugar arguing it is meant to cushion the market from acute shortage of the commodity.
Four sugar factories were recently closed down for routine maintenance and that also led to decline in production.
The Directorate’s interim Director Rosemary Mkok was recently quoted saying that as at the end of last week, the country stock reached at 1,028 tonnes.