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{
    "id": 1472710,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1472710/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 71,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John K. Mutunga",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I stand to respond to a statement requested by Hon. Elsie Muhanda and Hon. Titus Kamala. Pursuant to Standing Order No.44(2)(c), Hon. Elsie Muhanda and Hon. Titus Kamala requested for a statement on 14th August 2024 on the interim cane price for the month of August as set by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) and the reduction of sugar-cane prices by AFA, respectively. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development responded as follows to the issues raised in the request for statement. The statement was requested by Hon. Elsie Muhanda regarding the interim cane price for the month of August 2024 as set by AFA. The Member wanted a comprehensive report on the rationale used by AFA to set the interim cane price for August 2024 at Ksh4,950 per tonne, including the criteria used to determine that price. There is a cane price-setting committee within AFA. This committee uses the following formula to set the price. Sugar-cane prices are determined by a formula where the price of the cane per tonne is equal to the net sugar per tonne multiplied by the farmers’ sharing ratio over the ratio of the tonnes of cane used to produce one tonne of sugar. The farmers’ sharing ratio is adopted at 50 per cent and the ratio of the tonnes of cane used to produce a tonne of sugar is adopted at 10 per cent. Therefore, 10 tonnes of cane produce one tonne of sugar. The net price is, therefore, equal to the average extraction price of sugar in the preceding month, excluding VAT. The interim cane price for August 2024 was set by the AFA using that particular formula at Ksh4,950 per tonne. The pricing formula used gives the minimum recommended cane price to be paid to the farmers based on the preceding three months average of ex-factory price. This is the price that factories use to bring in competition to attract cane suppliers. The second question that the Member asked was the effective date of the interim cane price and the reasons why the circular issued by AFA on 7th August 2024 did not clearly specify the start date leading to confusion and retroactive adjustment by the millers. The response is as follows: Sugar-cane prices are reviewed and the new prices determined on a monthly basis. Millers and farmers are notified within the first week of every month and the prices are effective from the date of the letter to the millers notifying them of the new prices of the cane. The third issue that the Member sought clarification on was an update on the measures being taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to control the influx of cheap sugar into the country, which has contributed to price fluctuations, thereby undermining the development of sugar-cane farming in Kenya. The response is as follows: Over the past three years, domestic consumption of sugar has outpaced the production and hence, the need for importation to cover the deficit. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is doing the following to achieve self-sufficiency."
}