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{
    "id": 821333,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/821333/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 227,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "One must remember that the Government of Kenya invested heavily in the establishment of the NCPB in order to support the farmers. The money that was spent there was taxpayers’ money, yet an entity that is supposed to preserve food commodity in the name of maize is the first body to declare the maize to be full of aflatoxin. People do not understand the language of aflatoxins. Aflatoxin is basically a fungal infection. It is a fungal infection resulting in poor drying and poor storage. The first question that comes to mind is; where is this maize from? Is it from the Kenyan farmer or is it from outside? If it is from the Kenyan farmer, NCPB have the facility to dry up this maize and store it in a safe environment. Then how comes that this maize is declared aflatoxin bearing maize if it is in their store? It means that there is an element of maize which may not be grown within the confines of the Republic of Kenya. It is maize which has been hurriedly harvested elsewhere and brought in and that is why I have no mercy for cartels who come to stock NCPB depots with maize, thus denying the ordinary farmer an opportunity to deliver his crop. That is point number one. When this Committee finally settles down, they must query and find out what happened with this drying and storage facility which was put up using enormous resources of the Republic of Kenya. What has gone wrong with it? That is the first issue that this adhoc Committee should enquire. The second inquiry should be why they issue a license of imports when the farmer is just about to have a bumper harvest say that there is a deficit in the country, whereas, it is only a matter of a few days within which that deficit can be met by the local farmers. They then mandate the imports to this country, displacing the normal farmer; a faithful diligent farmer, who has spent time, energy and sweat to produce food for this nation as part of his patriotism, so as to increase food security basket in this country. The second thing that they should inquire into is the reason the agencies that give this import licenses conveniently time when the farmer is already expecting a bumper harvest. Having gone through all the stages of frustration, why are they being allowed to import? That is the third stage that this Committee must look at carefully. The fourth stage that this Committee should look at is what the role of the clerks and managers of these depots is. Are we seeing a high degree of corruption at this level that a small poor farmer has to struggle? I am speaking from experience. I have seen ordinary farmers who harvest in Kitale, send their maize to Moi’s bridge and then spend 24, 48, 72hours or almost a week on the line to deliver their harvest, yet the fellow that was hired to provide transport keeps demanding for more money for having been kept long. Who bears that extra cost? These centres were meant to be immediate delivery centers such that one can transfer their cropthere. Who pays for that extra cost in terms of transport? It is the poor farmer. So where have you left the farmer? You have designated him to oblivion. That is what we mean when we say that this country is deliberately designating the farmer to oblivion. The Government then came up with a wonderful intervention and that is the one that I think this Committee should look at; the subsidy on fertilizers. They give the minimum prices that are allowed such that DAP is to cost Kshs1,800 and CAN is to cost Kshs1,500. However, when you go to the stores of NCPB, they ask you for a letter from The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}