By George Brendan
Kenya's sugar industry is at a point where recovery is being discussed more seriously than before. But recovery is not simply about producing more sugar. The bigger question is whether we can build an industry capable of sustaining that recovery, competing effectively and responding to the challenges that will inevitably come.
That is what makes the theme of the 2026 Sugar Industry Innovation Symposium & Expo, "Rebounding Towards a Resilient and Sustainable Sugar Industry," particularly relevant to me.
The word rebounding suggests movement from difficulty towards recovery. But what will make that recovery last?
During my work experience at the Cane Testing Unit at SONY Sugar, I had an opportunity to see one small part of the sugar industry at an operational level. I worked with technologies such as the core sampler, cane presentation system, shredder, Near Infrared Spectrometer, OPUS and Sample Manager. Together, these systems support the process of sampling cane, preparing it for analysis, testing its quality and managing the resulting data.
The experience showed me the value of technology. It also taught me something equally important: technology is only as effective as the systems supporting it.
Equipment can develop technical problems. Mechanical breakdowns can interrupt operations. Power interruptions can affect processes. Software sometimes requires specialised technical support that may not be immediately available.
This changed the way I think about resilience.
A resilient sugar industry is not one in which nothing ever goes wrong. Machines will break down. Weather conditions will change. Markets will shift and costs will rise. Resilience is the ability to respond to those disruptions, recover from them and continue operating.
Technology alone cannot provide that ability.
Consider a factory investing in sophisticated equipment. The investment may solve an immediate problem, but what happens five years later? Are technicians available to maintain it? Can spare parts be obtained locally? Can new employees be trained when experienced staff leave? If the software requires an update or develops a problem, is technical support readily available? Can the factory afford the long-term cost of operating the system?
These questions are just as important as asking what a new technology can do.
The same principle applies beyond factory technology. Increasing cane production matters, but that production must be supported by reliable farmer services and sound agronomic practices. Modernising factories matters, but those factories require skilled personnel, preventive maintenance and continued investment. Producing more sugar matters, but increased production must exist alongside markets capable of sustaining it.
Climate presents another test of resilience. An industry dependent on a reliable supply of sugarcane cannot ignore changing rainfall patterns, drought, emerging pests and diseases or pressure on water resources. Climate-smart agronomy, improved varieties, irrigation and better agricultural practices therefore become more than productivity interventions. They are part of preparing the industry to withstand future shocks.
This is why I believe innovation in the sugar industry should not begin and end with the question, "What new technology can we introduce?"
We should also ask: Can we maintain it? Can our people operate and repair it? Is it affordable? Can farmers and factories practically adopt it? Can it adapt when conditions change?
An innovation that solves today's problem but cannot be maintained tomorrow has not necessarily made the industry more resilient.
This is where the 2026 Sugar Industry Innovation Symposium & Expo can provide an important platform. Its theme invites the industry to think beyond recovery itself and consider what must be built around that recovery to make it sustainable. The conversations around climate-smart agronomy, financing and investment, competitiveness, farmer institutions, technology and industrial automation are ultimately connected by that challenge.
My experience at SONY Sugar gave me only a small view of a much larger industry, but it changed how I understand resilience. I saw the benefits that modern technology can bring, but I also saw the importance of the people, infrastructure and support systems behind it.
Perhaps that is the bigger lesson for the industry.
Rebounding should not mean simply returning to where we were before. It should mean learning from the weaknesses that made the industry vulnerable in the first place and building the capacity to withstand the next challenge.
That, to me, is what "Rebounding Towards a Resilient and Sustainable Sugar Industry" should ultimately mean: not simply getting Kenya's sugar industry back on its feet, but making sure it is strong enough to keep moving forward.