Mumias sugarcane farmers have a
reason to smile after Mumias Sugar
Company increased sugarcane price by
Sh500 per tonne.
Company communication director
Moses Owino said farmers have
been earning an average of Sh3,300
per tonne. “Because the demand for
Mumias sugar has improved, the management
has increased this to Sh3,800.
is will take eff ect from July 20 [yesterday],”
Owino said.
Addressing journalists at the factory
on Tuesday, Owino urged farmers to
take advantage of the new price and
concentrate on doing business with
Mumias to maximise productivity.
“Mumias is the only sugar miller in
Kenya that pays highly. I don’t see why
farmer.I wonder if this is enough to pay for the work done to grow and transport the cane to the factory
Siku Ile utajua 1 tonne =1,000kg you will pull down this listing
3800 for 1000kg thats 3.8 per kg very little money
How many tonnes can an acre of land yield?
thats shs 3.8 for a kilo of sucrose, water (that has to be evaporated to make crystal sugar) and bagasse.
someone please tell us what is the cost of the same kilo of cane ( cost of land prep and management, seedcane, fertilizer, management…)
Following… Very interesting!
depends on how you manage ;
-Digging twice and harrowing 1 acre -7.5k
-Fertilizer for Top dressing and planting the cane -6k
-Weeding, 3 times -9k
-Cane seedlings -25-30k
It will take around 18 months to mature and can harvest around 40 tonnes.
are you sure 1 acre is 40 tonnes?anyway 3800x40=152000total costs is 52500.152000-52500=99500.working 18 m0nths to wait for 99500.thats 5527 per month seems like very little to me .
Yes,Farming is like charity, you got to be patient
Mr Protasus Wekesa is a contracted farmer for Mumias Sugar Company (MSC).
From a gross of Sh250,000 that his three-acre farm produced, his May 2014 statement shows that he received a net pay of only Sh25,000.
Differing statements
In 2012, Mr Wekesa realised Sh20,000 from a quarter an acre piece, underlining the complexity in which millers calculate farmers’ dues.
“Based on the 2012 returns, I was expecting not less than Sh150,000 from my three acres if the company’s calculations were consistent,” the distraught farmer told the Nation.
His farm is barely 10 kilometres from MSC but his statement showed that he was charged Sh5,200 for transportation of cane per kilometre.
Cane was ferried twice from Mr Wekesa’s farm, bringing the total transport charges to Sh52,000. His cane, according to the company, was valued at Sh250,000.
All millers supply seed cane to farmers at a cost that is deducted from their dues upon maturity of the crop, ordinarily after 18 months.
Mr Wekesa, received 9.8 tonnes of seed cane at a cost of Sh32,226 but upon harvest, the company deducted an extra Sh19,171 as interest, representing 59.4 per cent in just 18 months.
The average lending rate in Kenyan banks is 13 per cent per annum thus the model adopted by the company only serves to hurt and enslave the poor farmer.
“I cannot afford school fees for my children in high school and colleges. I am now really confused. After waiting for almost two years, this is all I get,” said Mr Wekesa, a father of six.from nation
Hehehe,the pain of being a farmer…
Sugarcane growing is not beneficial to small scale farmers. To taste the sweetness of sugarcane growing you will need a plantation spanning hundreds or thousands of acres. I would advise farmers in the sugar belt to pant food crops instead, and let the sugar millers run their own plantations.