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"id": 1569692,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tetu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Geoffrey Wandeto",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for the opportunity. However, before I talk about the Bill before us, allow me to join you in warmly welcoming the students from Kieni and Mukurweini constituencies. They are my neighbours. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
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"id": 1569693,
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"text_counter": 161,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tetu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Geoffrey Wandeto",
"speaker": null,
"content": "On behalf of Hon. Kaguchia and Hon. Wainaina who are not here, I warmly welcome them to Parliament. I ask them to work hard and hopefully, a few of them will come to this House one day. That said, Hon. Temporary Speaker, allow me to lend my voice in support of the Agriculture and Livestock Extension Services Bill (Senate Bill No.12 of 2022). Growing up in rural Kenya in the 1980s and 1990s, I think we all witnessed the transformative power of agriculture. Most of us were educated by proceeds of coffee, tea and other crops and that is when there was money in farming. One of the catalysts then, was the presence of these agricultural extension officers but over the years, we have seen a very systematic collapse of these services and the final nail on the coffin came in 2012, I believe, when we finally devolved agriculture. As I have said in this House before, it is sad that a lot of good things that were devolved died on the floor of the counties. Agriculture despite being about 33 per cent of our GDP, contributes nearly 70 per cent in terms of employment and support for rural livelihoods. Yesterday, I came across a very interesting chat which was comparing crop production between Kenya and Tanzania, and the comparison years were 1961 and 2023. You realise that on maize, I think in 1961, we were producing an upward of a million metric tonnes of maize and Tanzania was only doing about 300,000. Today, we have about 3 million while Tanzania is at about 6 million and that is why we have become a net importer of Tanzanian maize. The same goes to rice, beans and very many other crops and as much as we may have ‘beef’ currently with Tanzania, we will have to admit that when they tell us that sarcastically in Kiswahili jirani hatachakula hana (our neighbours lack food) they really mean it because over time, we have let the agriculture sector down. Hon. Temporary Speaker, as land sizes shrink, as the vagaries of climate change affect us and as we deal with all the challenges that we have, productivity continues to go down. We have to make interventions to ensure that our farmers can produce more on the small pieces of land that they have. This calls for improved husbandry methods, better seeds, more effective use of pesticides and fertilisers, and disease control. Agricultural extension officers played this role. Since this function was taken to the counties, we have faced challenges. I have a sister who is an Agricultural Extension Officer and she gives me horrendous stories. Sometimes, she spends a month or two in the office without going to the field because her county cannot provide transport. There are also no tools to help farmers, even though she works in an agriculturally rich county. We must start introspecting on what we need to do about this problem. I am happy because the Bill that is before us seeks to revitalise this service. It is very timely. However, I am not a strong believer that every problem in this country will be solved by the Government. In fact, Government is fairly poor at solving problems. It is good at policy and creating an enabling environment. However, this problem was handed over to the counties. They were given staff, but due to challenges, especially corruption, we are not seeing results. I have said in this House that the only thing we have 100 per cent successfully devolved is corruption. Because of these problems, we must start introspecting creating a framework for professional services. Today, in rural areas, even when there is no medicine in the local clinic, one can still go to a private doctor. So, how do we ensure that farmers who can afford it have access to commercialised extension services? If you look at big horticultural companies, especially those operating in parts of the Rift Valley and Mount Kenya, they run their own extension services. They have officers who advise farmers on how to improve productivity. How can we ensure we come up with a model where we can certify, register and regulate commercial extension officers? They can even be community-based, just like the Community Health Promoters (CHPs). They can be small, professional and community-based officers who can help do crop, milk or product share with the farmers. For instance, if they help a farmer improve productivity The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
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{
"id": 1569694,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569694/?format=api",
"text_counter": 162,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tetu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Geoffrey Wandeto",
"speaker": null,
"content": "from 10 litres per cow to 20, they are allowed to take two litres a day. This way, farmers pay for improved productivity. This Bill is timely. We must ensure that we do not leave everything to Government. We need to regulate this sector well. Otherwise, we will continue to complain about reduction in productivity. Finally, I have always longed for the day we can use part of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) to support agriculture. Due to devolution, clear boundaries were built. I see many opportunities to educate farmers and to support water, irrigation, agriculture and health interventions. However, because of the NG-CDF limitations, I am unable to do this. In future, we can allow 1 or 2 per cent of NG-CDF to go into farmer education. Governors have failed to do this, but Members of Parliament have shown good utilisation of NG-CDF in education, security and environment matters. How can we extend our scope a little bit to meet these needs? This may be theoretical. I rise to support the Bill. It is very important that we get our farmers back to productivity in this country. Thank you."
},
{
"id": 1569695,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569695/?format=api",
"text_counter": 163,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Well said. Let us hear from the Member for Kirinyaga."
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{
"id": 1569696,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569696/?format=api",
"text_counter": 164,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kirinyaga County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Njeri Maina",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. While agriculture is at a transformational crossroads, it is unfortunate that we seem to be progressing in some ways and retrogressing in others. The role of agricultural extension officers is crucial. Often times, we ask ourselves how to engage young people and close the generational gap in terms of engagement in regard to farming. Agriculture contributes around 20 per cent of our GDP, forming a critical sector in the Kenyan economy and employing over 40 per cent of the general populace. It is, therefore, important that we are intentional about addressing the key concerns of climate change and food insecurity in Kenya. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a click on a phone can capture a photo of an ailing plant, and that application can analyze what the crop needs. As we talk about agricultural extension officers, let us embrace technology and AI to provide critical support to farmers, thus enabling them to maximise output. We have applications like Tumaini, a Kenyan application, developed by our young people who have acquired proper knowledge. Unfortunately, since agriculture was devolved, the provision of agricultural extension services has been lacking, and these brains often go to waste. This will also be an opportunity to create employment. Universities continue to offer these courses, but there is no market absorption due to lack of implementation. Activating agricultural extension officers and taking advantage of social media and AI will be transformative and will ensure that the country achieves food security. Hon. Temporary Speaker, many Members have said that we benefit from agriculture because our parents were primarily farmers, and the proceeds from farming enabled us to go to school. What will we say of the next generation, which is highly learned but cannot be absorbed by the market? We all know the state of the economy in terms of creation of employment opportunities. Agricultural extension officers will help subsidise production costs and analyse climate change issues, and advise farmers on crop adaptation. Some areas that used to support certain crops when we were growing up can no longer sustain them due to climate change or changes in the composition of certain vital soil ingredients as a result of pollution. We have often complained about the use of harmful pesticides in farm inputs. You find in a certain area, a locality in the village, the prevalence of certain types of cancers are very high. Scientific data has been availed to indicate that this is as a result of the use of harmful pesticides. When we take advantage of collating scientific data and developing applications, farmers in the village, including my mother who is now in her 60s and has a smartphone, can get critical information that is timely and analysed. With AI, once you feed The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1569697,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569697/?format=api",
"text_counter": 165,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kirinyaga County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Njeri Maina",
"speaker": null,
"content": "information to an application, the analysis is done and you receive advice that is scientifically viable. It is, therefore, important that we expedite and improve this Bill to ensure that it embodies the component of AI, so that we can also involve the youth in farming. We can take advantage of the knowledge they have given the advantage that they have grown up in the era of social media, where Facebook groups are even created purposely for farming so that farmers can share reviews, concerns and exchange information. This has made it easier for us. We must also tap into that for the benefit of our farmers. As I wind up, these agricultural extension officers will also advise farmers on market expectations so that we have a buyer-supplier balance. I support this Bill and urge Members to also contribute to enhance it. At the appropriate stage, I will give my contributions in regard to the same. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
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"id": 1569698,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569698/?format=api",
"text_counter": 166,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you and well said. Join me in welcoming students from…."
},
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"id": 1569699,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569699/?format=api",
"text_counter": 167,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. Yusuf Adan spoke off the record)"
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"id": 1569700,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569700/?format=api",
"text_counter": 168,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. David Ochieng’",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Adan, there are four Members before you. I will give opportunities to them and then I will give you. Relax."
},
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"id": 1569701,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569701/?format=api",
"text_counter": 169,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Laughter)"
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