Khang’ati urges local farmers to supply sugarcane to Nzoia for increased sugar production

Bungoma, Wednesday, June 7, 2023,

KNA by Bronley Kidari

Nzoia Sugar Company Chairman Alfred Khang’ati has pleaded with farmers to stop taking sugar cane to private millers in the region saying this was slowly killing the firm.

Speaking to journalists Tuesday, Khang’ati said that a number of farmers have withdrawn from supplying the company with sugarcane noting that it is one of the reasons for low sugar production.

"Instead of complaining about Nzoia collapsing, bring sugar cane here for crushing and watch the firm rise again to its normal production capacity,” he said.

Khang’ati affirmed that for the few months he has been at Nzoia, he has assessed the company’s operations and is very optimistic that Nzoia can roar back to its normal crushing once there is adequate supply of the raw material.

“Those who have been complaining of worn-out parts and frequent breakages of the crushing machine can now celebrate as we have rectified,” he said.

The firm's Acting Managing Director Ezron Kotut said that the management has started the process of reviving the firm’s nucleus’s estate through planting of sugarcane.

“We have about 10,000 acres of nucleus estate and for now almost 2/3 is under cane and only 1/3 is still fallow,” he said.

He added that the company has a total of 552 acres under forest cover and a tree nursery with 183,000 tree seedlings.

Courtesy ; K. N. A