The government is accelerating plans to transform Kenya’s sugar industry into a major producer of electricity and ethanol, with sugar factories expected to play a key role in boosting energy security, reducing fuel imports and creating new income streams for farmers.
Speaking during a visit to West Valley Sugar Company, a flagship investment under the Kipchimchim Group, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Sen. Mutahi Kagwe said the future of the sugar sector lies in maximizing every component of sugarcane to produce sugar, electricity, ethanol and other industrial products.
Kagwe revealed that the government is engaging the Ministry of Energy to facilitate the purchase of electricity generated by sugar factories through cogeneration using bagasse, a by-product of sugar processing.
He cited West Valley Sugar Company as an example, noting that the factory currently generates five megawatts of electricity while utilizing only about 30 percent of its available bagasse.
“West Valley is producing five megawatts of electricity with only a fraction of its bagasse. If the factory operated at full capacity, it could generate up to 15 megawatts,” said Kagwe.
The CS urged Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi to fast-track frameworks that would allow sugar factories to sell surplus electricity to the national grid, saying the move would diversify Kenya’s energy sources while creating additional revenue for millers and farmers.
Kagwe also announced plans to expand ethanol production as part of efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
He said recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East had highlighted the need for Kenya to diversify its energy sources through ethanol blending programmes similar to those adopted in countries such as Brazil and India.
“If we blend ethanol with fuel, we will save foreign exchange and significantly reduce our dependence on imported petroleum products. Going the ethanol way is what this government will support,” he said.
West Valley Sugar Company currently operates ethanol production facilities with a capacity of approximately 20,000 litres per day, which Kagwe described as a model for the future of the sugar industry.
The Cabinet Secretary said reforms implemented in the sector, including the leasing of state-owned sugar factories to private operators, have already begun yielding results.
According to Kagwe, sugar production has increased by approximately 22 percent over the past year due to improved management, subsidized fertilizer programmes and enhanced support for farmers.
He also assured workers in the sugar industry that all outstanding salary arrears inherited from previously distressed state-owned mills would be settled.
Kagwe further encouraged local investors to take advantage of opportunities in sugar manufacturing, ethanol production and electricity generation, saying the sector has enormous potential to drive industrialization, job creation and rural economic growth.
The CS also clarified that the Ministry of Agriculture has no legal mandate to interfere with elections of farmer representatives to the Kenya Sugar Board, noting that the law requires farmers to elect their own representatives.
He praised the Kipchimchim Group for its investment in sugar production, ethanol manufacturing and electricity generation, saying integrated agricultural enterprises remain critical to Kenya’s economic transformation.
As the government intensifies efforts to revive the sugar sector, officials believe sugar factories could soon become important sources of both food and energy, positioning the industry at the center of Kenya’s industrialization and energy security agenda.
