By Felix Ochieng Akech

Geoffrey Odeka has tripled his sugarcane earnings by making traditional sugar jaggery on his farm instead of selling his raw cane to middlemen.

Based in Kamagambo in Rongo, Migori County, Geoffrey is  now earning around Sh50,000 per harvest, compared with Sh15,000 before, when he sold his raw cane. 

“I’ve been growing sugarcane for nearly 10 years,” said Geoffrey. “Before I started the project I got different ideas. I saw some of my friends practising sugarcane farming, so I too started. I used to sell to the middlemen who came with tractors. They paid about Sh3,000 per tonne, sometimes even less, and delayed payment for weeks. I had no control over that and just took the price I was offered.”

“The challenges were many. First of all, during sugarcane harvesting we need harvesters and tractors that can transport the sugarcane, so the transport was so expensive. Even the buyers could reject my sugarcane,” he said. “Some people passing could also pick the sugarcane. Also, the pest and diseases were difficult to control, but I never gave up.”

“One day I visited my neighbour’s jaggery and I was shocked to see that he was making good progress and getting profit,” said Geoffrey. “He told me that one tonne of cane could produce jaggery worth more than Sh8,000, so I realized I was losing much money.”

“My grandfather took me to a jaggery mill and I started learning at that point,” he said. “I could use animals to crush sugarcane to get the soup from the cane. So I boil the juice until it turns to jaggery.”

He began experimenting with a small local furnace using bricks and an iron pan.  

“I learned how to boil the juice slowly, skim the foam, and add lemon juice to clear it,” he said. “The first batches were too dark and sticky, but I kept improving.”

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“At first I sold the jaggery in rough blocks, then started moulding it into smaller round shapes and packaging it neatly in banana fibre,” said Geoffrey. “Those who don’t use a lot of sugar can use jaggery syrup.”

“The cane fibre we used to throw away, some people take it as waste, but now we use it as fuel to boil the sugarcane juice,” he said.

“Before I earned around Sh15,000 per harvest. Now from the same cane I earn about Sh50,000, and it has helped to pay school fees,” said Geoffrey.

“Don’t depend on middlemen. Sugarcane has more value than just raw sticks and the demand for jaggery is very high.”

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