Govt forms team to set sugarcane prices

The Ministry of Agriculture has moved a step closer in reviewing cane prices in the country.

The government has appointed a nine-member team to steer the Interim Sugarcane Pricing Committee. The team will review cane prices based on sucrose content and develop pricing mechanisms among other roles.

The establishment of the Sugarcane Pricing Committee came after the gazettement of Crops Regulations 2020 on May 27th last year by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya.

As per the terms of reference, the proposed interim committee will be charged with reviewing of sugarcane prices which shall be determined on the basis of sucrose content.

It will oversee the implementation of the Cane Testing Services. The committee will also develop a pricing mechanism and appropriation of proceeds to ensure equitable returns to growers and millers.

But the fate of the committee hangs in the balance as the government awaits the outcome of a petition in Bungoma, where a section of industry players are challenging the Crops Regulations.

The nine-member committee which has voting rights and powers to include a member from the Sugar Research Institute, will execute its mandate for a period of six months.

Its representation will cut across various entities, namely Agriculture and Food Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, farmers, millers and sugar growing counties.

The government has over the last two years drafted a raft of measures to rescue the ailing sugar industry in the country.