North Rift sugarcane farmers are set to benefit from a Sh10bn sugar factory set to be built by the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) in partnership with Indian investors in a move aimed at boosting cane production and empower pastoralists economically.
The factory will be built on a 25,000ha piece of land near Turkwel on the border of West Pokot and Turkana counties.
KVDA Managing Director David Kimosop said this last week when he received 50 students who were sponsored by the Kenyan government to undergo training on how to improve food security in the country.
“The students will advise farmers on how to improve yields by putting into practice what they learnt in Israel, an arid country that utilizes small pieces of land to produce food for local and international markets,” said Kimosop.
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Sugar prices rise sharply as cane supply declines
A farmer weeding sugarcane in the past. Photo/Nation
The quantity of sugarcane delivered to factories by smallholder farmers in the country reduced from 7.2m tonnes in 2016 to 4.8m tonnes in 2017, 33.3 per cent shrinkage on account of reducing acreage of cane and low production as farmers abandon cane for other crops such as maize and beans according to the 2018 Economic Survey Report.
In this, the total area under sugarcane decreased to 191,200 in ha in 2017 compared to 220,800 ha recorded in 2016.
In 2017, the Sugar Directorate of Kenya set the price of one tonne of sugarcane at Sh4,052 down from Sh4,320 the previous year.