12/13/2006
GRANTS
WECHE MOKADHO
;
Kisumu
CANE FARMERS PELASED WITH THE KIRWA'S NEW APPOINTMENT AT THE SONY SUGAR
COMPANY
By Leo Odera Omolo
Sugar cane farmers within Awendo cane growing zone in Migori have expressed
their gratitude and satisfaction with the new appointment of
the chairman of Sony Sugar board of directors. They have pleaded with the
government to source the funds for the company's factory expansion.
The minister for Agriculture Kipruto Arap Kirwa last weekend announced the appointment of a
Through their spokesman, the farmers said, they expect the new chairman to
make good his wealth of experience and prowess in business to bring back
to life the financial strapped sugar company for the mutual benefits of members
of the cane farming fraternity in the region.
The spokesman who preferred to keep his identity anonymous said, Sony Sugar plays a pivotal role in uplifting the standard of living among the poor rural folks in the region, which is covering five administrative districts of Migori, Gucha, Homa-Bay, Kuria and Transmara. It has contracted close to 25,000 cane outgrowers and serving similar number of non-contracted farmers.
The company has envisaged an ambitious development plan for its expansion
from the present 3000TDC (tons of cane in a day) to 6500 TCD as part of the
reduction of the cost of production in line with the COMESA conditionality.
The farmers said they hoped Mr. Ojwang would team up with the competent and hard working team of the company's management staff under the ablest leadership of the Managing Director Mr. Ambrose Otieno and lobby hard for the sourcing of funds for the expansion of the factory. There is plenty of mature cane rotting in the field, some have overgrown for upto 50 months due to the factory's inability to crush. There is also lack of adequate transport and the farmers hope that Mr. Ojwang' and his colleagues would strive to improve the cane transport system. This is what is hindering the delivery of mature cane to the factory.
Mr. Ojwang' joined Sony Sugar board at the time when its management is struggling hard to secure sufficient funds for the factory's expansion and it is the wish of the farmers that he would use his wealth of experience and diplomacy to resuscitate the company. Other issues, which should be addressed is the unnecessary delays in paying farmers their dues from cane bills. This, they said, should be reduced to one month, meaning that a farmer should be paid for his cane delivered in the previous month by the following month. The delay is causing a lot of hardship to the farmers, especially those paying school fees and necessary overheads.
The farmer welcome Mr. Ojwang' new appointment and heaped a lot of praise on minister Kirwa for his dynamism and political magnanimity in selecting Mr. Ojwang' a former Personal Assistant to Raila Odinga during the latter's brief stint as the Minister for Roads and Works. He is also a director at the
Ends
The writer is LUOCOME REPORTER based in Kisumu. We urge all LUOCOME members with pressing issues pertaining to media and press releases to kindly contact him from any where in world. He will assist you to get true picture of your Village Developement.
LUOCOME-MEDIA
Joluo.com
Ka in gi mari moro ma di wandik ka to orni
Akelo nyar Kager,
jaluo@jaluo.com
Daher winjo dwondi in bende, iwinjo?
Inyalo oro twak kod weche manyien ne: Mig. Ajos wuod Atiga
WuonAbila@jaluo.com
GALAMORO : Riwruok mar JOLUO e Piny Ngima, orwaku uduto mondo ubed e kanyakla mar burani. Ornwa nyingi gi nondi kaka obedo. Riwruok e teko joka Nyanam.