LREB cancels public participation forum for cane farmers - KBC

The Lake Region Economic Bloc has cancelled the planned public participation forum for cane farmers which was to begin Wednesday.

This follows protests by farmers who said they are not represented in the committee.

During last year’s Mashujaa day celebrations held in Kakamega County, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Agriculture to finalize the audit and verify pending payments to sugar cane farmers.

And last week, the President said the audit process had been completed, thereby directing the ministries of Agriculture and the National Treasury to immediately start the process of paying the farmers.

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The sugarcane farmers claim they are yet to receive payment for cane delivered.

This has prompted the leadership of the Lake Region Economic Bloc to cancel the planned public participation for cane farmers which was scheduled to begin Wednesday according to the bloc’s Chairperson Wycliffe Oparanya.

The decision was reached after farmers protested against having them offer views about what should be done to improve the sugar industry when public sugar factories were yet to honor payments for cane supplied.

The farmers also argue that they are not been represented in the committee collecting views about improvement of the sugar industry and fear that their views could be sidelined.

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