Nzoia Sugar buys Sh63m new crushing machines

Nzoia Sugar Company has pumped Sh63 million into new machines and maintenance of old ones to boost its operation.

Its managing director Michael Wanjala said the machinery acquired through internally generated revenue will increase milling capacity.

“Improving our cane crushing capacity and efficiency is key component in determining our performance. At the moment we are doing some minor maintenance at the factory and acquiring new machines after we generated Sh63 million from sales,” said Mr Wanjala.

“We are also placing the crop under irrigation to cut duration for sugar cane maturity from 18 months to less than 12 months as opposed to depending on rain-fed agriculture,” added Mr Wanjala

The company, he said, plans to place its entire nucleus under furrow irrigation to solve the shortage of raw materials.

“The system has proved prosperous in sugar cane producing countries including Sudan, Egypt and Uganda by boosting the yield,” said Mr Wanjala.

In Egypt, almost eight million acres of sugar cane plantation is under irrigated compared to 350,000 acres in Kenya which is placed under rain fed agriculture.

Mr Wanjala, however, decried high electricity prices saying that the company was focused on producing its own power to cut down on high operation costs.