For months, sugarcane farmers in Homa Bay and Migori have poured their time, money and labour into growing their crop.
But after finally harvesting, many say they are now watching their hard-earned produce dry up in their farms as millers delay collecting the cane.
The farmers say the delays are turning what should be a payday into another season of losses, leaving families struggling after months of waiting for their investment to pay off.
Led by their chairperson Rafael Owino, the farmers protested the delays, accusing sugar companies of failing to collect harvested cane on time.Owino said farmers are being forced to absorb losses despite meeting their part of the production process.
“Our sugarcane is drying in the farms because companies are delaying to pick it after we harvest. We are losing money every time we harvest our cane,” Owino said.
The farmers want the government to intervene and address the delays, saying the continued problem could discourage them from growing sugarcane.
“We are appealing to the government to intervene because farmers cannot continue making losses after working for months to produce sugarcane,” they said.
The farmers are calling for faster cane collection and better coordination between millers and growers to ensure harvested cane reaches factories before its quality deteriorates.