The roar of crushing machines has returned to the sugar belt of Western Kenya. In what the government is hailing as a milestone for agricultural reform, four major state-owned millers—Chemelil, Sony, Nzoia, and Muhoroni—have simultaneously resumed operations today after a protracted shutdown due to debt and maintenance backlogs.

The revival comes as a massive relief to over 80,000 cane farmers who have been stuck with mature cane rotting in their fields. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Andrew Karanja flagged off the first fleet of tractors at Chemelil this morning, declaring that the days of "delaying farmer payments to fund bureaucracy" are over.

The "Leasing" Strategy

This resumption is the first fruit of the controversial leasing model adopted by the Cabinet last year. Instead of full privatization, the government has brought in private management firms to run the factories while the state retains ownership of the land. "We are bringing in private sector efficiency without selling our heritage," the CS explained.

• The Immediate Impact: The mills have a combined crushing capacity of 10,000 tonnes of cane per day (TCD). This is expected to significantly lower the price of sugar on the shelf, which currently hovers around KES 220 per kg.
• The Debt Question: While operations have started, the elephant in the room remains the KES 117 billion historical debt owed by these millers. The Treasury has proposed writing it off, but Parliament is yet to ratify the bill.

Cautious Optimism

Farmers' representatives have welcomed the move but remain skeptical. "We have seen ribbons cut before," said Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Secretary General Francis Wangara. "The real test will be next month. Will the money hit the farmer's account within 7 days as promised, or will we return to the streets?"