President William Ruto has announced that the government will for the first time pay bonuses to all cane farmers in the country.
Speaking during the Governor’s Cup 2024, organised by Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa at Mumias Sports Complex, Kakamega County, on Wednesday, January 1, Ruto announced that the government will be paying the bonuses in line with his campaign promises.
According to Ruto, it was unfair for other farmers engaging in the cultivation of other important and strategic produce, such as tea and coffee, to be paid bonuses while cane farmers were left out.
The Head of State added that the first batch of payments will be after the conclusion of his trip to the region, when he will be making a return to the region at the end of the month.
President William Ruto engages Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa during the Governor’s Cup at Mumias Complex, Kakamega County on January 1, 2025.
PCS
”The way we pay tea bonuses is the same way we must pay cane farmers from this region,” Ruto stated while revealing that all farmers registered with the government will benefit from the pay.
”I will be back here at the end of the month to pay the first bonus ever for cane farmers in Kenya since independence,” he added.
The President at the same time announced that the government has made the necessary arrangements to facilitate the payouts to the hundreds of farmers.
”We have made the necessary arrangements for the leasing programme and the payment of all our farmers. I want to thank all the farmers because they have greatly helped us this year and as a result, Kenya will not be importing sugar this year,” he added.
As of 2019, the country had approximately 250,000 small-scale sugarcane farmers, who supplied most of the cane milled in the country. The sugar industry supports the livelihoods of about six million Kenyans, directly or indirectly.
This year will be a historic one for Kenya, after the Cabinet approved a decision to ban sugar imports for this year following a sitting on November 14, last year.
“On sugar, the meeting noted that Kenya has, for the first time, produced enough to meet local demand,” noted the Cabinet dispatch obtained by Kenyans.co.ke.
“As a result, no sugar will be imported this year. This achievement is due to subsidised fertiliser provided to farmers and improved management of the sector,” part of the statement read.
Kenya is expected to produce more than 800,000 metric tonnes from the just concluded year. In the previous harvest, the production of sugar had ranged from 700,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually from 16 factories.
A truck harvesting sugarcane
Photo
John W Banagan