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New Sh2.8 billion Kericho sugar mill boon for cane farmers 

  • The factory will crush 1,250 tonnes, equivalent to 2,500 bags of sugar daily
  • 3,800 farmers have been registered to supply sugar cane

Sugarcane farmers in Kericho and surrounding counties are set to benefit from the newly constructed Sh2.8 billion West Valley Sugar Company Limited in Kapsoit town, Kericho County.

According to factory Managing Director Benard Soi, the private factory will begin operations in three months’ time crushing 1,250 tonnes, equivalent to 2,500 bags of sugar daily, gotten from growers in Ainamoi, Kipkelion, Sigowet-Soin sub-counties of Kericho, Tinderet constituency in Nandi County, and Muhoroni, Nyando constituencies in Kisumu County.

“We have registered 3,800 sugar cane farmers. There is a lot of uncultivated land in Kericho where we are going to do cane development with the farmers, we are going to give seedlings to farmers and provide them with fertilizer so that we develop the cane so that within the next two years we will have enough cane in the region,” informed Soi.

The plant will also offer 1,500 jobs for residents of the county and when fully operationalised will have an output of 2,500 tonnes.

Alongside raw granulated and brown sugar, the factory will produce molasses, bagasse, press mud, vinasse, filter cake, and liquor. These will be used in biofuel, paper, pulp, fertilizer, feedstock, soil amendment, soil conditioner, and biogas production.

“Establishment of this sugar milling plant saying will go a long way in uplifting the area and county’s economy. We have hired 30 agricultural extension officers to assist sugar cane farmers in the sub-county in improving their sugarcane production and productivity,” said Kericho Governor Dr. Eric Mutai

He further stressed that his government would incentivise farmers to grow the cash crop by issuing them with subsidised farm inputs to increase their production ensuring the raw material is available all around.

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