Gathige wrote:Angelica _ann wrote:guru267 wrote:Something has been
stressing me ever since I joined the NSE... Why the hell doesn't Mumias
grow its own sugar?
stressed kweli, grow its own sugarcare.
Answer is land. @Angelica _ann, Very right. Commercially viable production cannot be actualized when relying on small-scale producers bulking the commodity. Have you ever wondered why sugar from Brazil, miles and miles away is ridiculously cheap as compared with our produce? In Brazil, the acres and acres of production are commercially owned and do not rely on poor farmers crying daily of high production costs . That way, the commercial farmers are able to maximize on returns.
The problem is not the size of the farms. the Sugar industry has 2 main problems;
1. Cane variety; ours takes 18-24 months to mature, the serious producers in the world e.g Kenana (sudan), Illovo (SA) have varieties that take 9 months.
2. Politics; our govt backed sugar companies are not for profit entities, they are social companies. Proof, a Muhindi recently set up West Kenya Sugar Company (Kabras), he is now the second largets sugar producer, I bet he will surpass Mumias in the next 24 months, he doesn't have a nucleas estate, and purchases cane from mostly small scale farmers. Some may accuse him of cane poaching etc, but those saying this are trying to divert attention from the inefficiencies in the other gava agencies. He is so far succedding by keeping costs low and running his company for profit.
Mumias with is sugar, power and other products should not be making any losses, something is extremely wrong. Watu wanakula.
"The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline." James Collins