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{
    "id": 47040,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/47040/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 338,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Prof. Olweny",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Education",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 122,
        "legal_name": "Patrick Ayiecho Olweny",
        "slug": "patrick-olweny"
    },
    "content": "and not at the factory. However, this does not happen. Sugar-cane is collected from the farm, transported to wherever the weighbridge is. Most of them are in the factories, except for Kibos which has one a distance from the factory. They are also putting up another one. During the transportation, a lot of cane is lost. So, a large fraction of what was taken from farmers’ farms remains on the road in transit, thanks to the poor road conditions that we have with several huge and deep potholes and the fact that cane is transported in trailers that are simply fitted with pillars. They are not containers, so, the cane drops. The farmer then loses again before he gets the poor price. Usually the price for sugar cane is very low. Recently, one of the millers in my constituency raised the cane price to Kshs3,500. The other millers are now crying foul. They are asking: Why has that miller raised his price to Kshs3,500? They say he is making them lose. So, if one miller can buy cane at the rate of Kshs3,500 and the other one is complaining, where are we heading to? I asked that other miller: Are these farmers making losses or gaining at that rate? You should also try to find out because now most of the farmers are selling their cane to that miller who is buying at a higher price. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleagues have talked of farmers’ arrears. It is true that so many millers in this country owe farmers money. They do not pay them on time. The Act says that they should be paid within one month of delivery. Anything outside that, the farmer should be paid with interest. Which miller in this country has paid sugar cane farmers with interest? None! They give the farmers money for several months. At the end of it, it is paid piecemeal without interest. This is done despite the fact that the farmer needs the money immediately after harvesting. The farmer needs money to weed the farm, so that a good crop comes up again to be sold to the same miller who has kept their money. In my constituency, farmers have not been paid by Chemelil Sugar Company since May last year. Up to today, one year down the line, they have not paid farmers. Why is the management not paying the farmers their dues? The poor farmer loses in many ways; the money is kept by the miller and low returns on what he invests. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the sugar industry suffers seriously with regard to importation of sugar. I know Kenya does not produce enough sugar, but there are rules and regulations that are supposed to be followed for sugar importation, so that the local sugar industry is not hurt. However, we have these other irregular millers. Recently, there was a case of irregular importers. There was a case of some people who imported sugar from outside COMESA and yet, the papers indicated that it was COMESA sugar. Who suffers at the end of it? They bring in cheap sugar which affects our local industry and who suffers? Both the farmers and the miller suffer."
}