Masindi outgrowers say still struggling despite minimum cane price

MASINDI - In April this year, Parliament passed the Sugar (Amendment) Bill 2023, setting a minimum price for sugarcane.

Where cane prices were to be derived from a new formular, which is PC = PS × R × D.  Where PC is the price of sugarcane per tonne, PS is the average price of sugar per tonne, R is the redement (tonnes of sugar made per every 100 tonnes of sugarcane) fixed at 8.5%, but can be negotiated higher depending on the circumstances. While D, on the other hand, is the share of the proceeds, set at a minimum of 55 per cent.

Previously according to the Sugar Act 2020, the sugarcane price was determined using C x R x D formular where C is equal to Weight (tonnes) of sugarcane R = Redement (tonnes of sugar made per every 100 tonnes of sugarcane), D = Percentage to be negotiated by concerned parties as decided by the Board and the minimum, shall be 50 per cent which caused conflict between the farmers and millers.

The latest law tabled by State Minister for industry David Bahati was in response to price instability. Two years ago, I saw a tonne of raw sugarcane drop to shillings 98,000 from shillings 200,000.

And yet, five months after the law came into force, some outgrowers in Masindi district say prices remain too low.

Sentiments that ran high during Maj. Gen. (rtd) Gregory Mugisha Muntu’s rally in Kabango town council on Sunday, October 19, 2025. At the time, the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) National co-ordinator and presidential candidate was vote hunting in the area.

Speaking to New Vision Online, Esau Amaniyo, a Kinyara Sugar outgrower of Kinyara Sugar Ltd, in Kiswahili said, “A tonne of raw sugarcane sells for shillings 130,000. We would like it to reach at least shillings 150,000. It had once reached shillings 180,000, but the price has since fallen.”

Amaniyo said sugarcane yields have increasingly struggled to meet farmers’ needs. He explained that cane is harvested after one and a half years, but the output remains low.

“On a hectare, you might get 50 or 60 tonnes. Then there are costs deducted for transport and loading, but these deductions are often not clearly explained to farmers. Sometimes, there is even cheating at the weighbridge because farmers are not present during weighing. And the figures given can be lower than the actual amount. For example, they might get 20 tonnes but only record 16,” Amaniyo pointed out.

Adding that farmers are not paid for by-products extracted from raw sugarcane, such as mud filter, which is used as organic fertiliser, bagasse and molasses. The latter, which is reportedly in high demand, is used in alcohol production.

“They only pay you the value for sugar cane,” he stated.

Worse still, speaking at the rally, a farmer who did not reveal his name, told Muntu that they are not paid on time and spend about shillings 100,000 to buy fertiliser. Which, by their own standards, is costly.

“When you are in charge, we want to be paid there and then. A lorry enters, and you are paid. Why would you stay with my money for several days?” he asked.

Development bank

Responding, Muntu reminded him of his campaign pledge to establish a development bank.

“Such that a farmer can borrow money at lower interest rates. So, the money which you get is not at the interest rate of commercial banks. Because commercial banks' interest rates are 24, 25, 26 per cent. Development banks are around 11, 12 per cent. Once you get that money, you can buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and then once you harvest or sell, you can pay the facility,” he argued.

Concerning delayed payment, Muntu attributed it to weaknesses in governance systems and enforcement. Vowing to plug it once they take power.

“Because we want people who are in agriculture, small miners, manufacturing on small scale, because when you lift up people, the country develops. Development is not roads, electricity, anything else or factories. It is how people live. When the living conditions of people improve, that's when you can say the country has developed,” he summed.