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{
    "id": 1012646,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1012646/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 325,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Narok North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Richard ole Kenta",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 420,
        "legal_name": "Richard Moitalel ole Kenta",
        "slug": "richard-moitalel-ole-kenta"
    },
    "content": "(5) The Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, having been granted until August 2019 to make regulations under the Crop Act, expedites actions necessary to enable the publication of the Crops (Sugar) (General) Regulations and the Crops (Sugar) (Imports, Exports and By-Products) Regulations. The regulations must address all issues raised by the stakeholders including zoning - where millers in certain regions compete amongst themselves thus giving the farmers a choice of millers they can sell their crops to - cane poaching, contracting of out growers, minimum and uniform prices based on weight or sucrose content and all sugar-cane by-products. This is because there is a lacuna in the law and this has been exploited. (6) The Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock Organisation (KALRO) and the Sugar Research Institute should be adequately funded to promote research and development of cane varieties, especially specific to sugar growing regions. (7) The importation of sugar into the country should strictly adhere to the sugar deficit as advised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. Any Gazette notices issued to permit importation of sugar must not be ambiguous. Further, the Ministry should consider restricting importation of sugar to the Kenyan National Trading Corporation and sugar millers on a pro-rata basis, depending on the sugar deficiency in the country and capacity of millers to address gaps. This is because we have sugar barons whose aim is to exploit, not only the poor farmers, but the country such that all the money that we get goes to individuals’ pockets at the expense of the majority of Kenyans, especially the farmers. Those corrupt sugar barons should be reined in. They should be stopped. We should not encourage them at all. They should not be trillionaires at the expense of ordinary Kenyans. (8) The national Government should strengthen the fertilizer subsidy program and gazette regulations on the importation quality, quantity and repackaging of fertilizer. Hon. Wamalwa had raised this issue. There is the Fertilizer Board Act, 2015 which, as he said, was assented to in 2015. We are all wondering why it has never been implemented. This is to the detriment of the farmers. (9) The Cabinet Secretary for Lands should also provide information on the implementation status of the recommendation under paragraph 111, which stated that the national Government should implement the National Land Policy to mitigate further land subdivisions for improved productivity, failure to which appropriate action, including censure, should be taken by the House. This is a very important component of farming, especially sugar farming. It is something that should be pushed as much as possible. I would like to call upon my colleagues from those areas to ensure that we follow up on this together, because it will be for the benefit of our people. Sometimes, we pass things and we want our people to benefit, but they are not implemented. (10) The Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock should look into the plight of frustrated investors in the sugar industry to avert the likelihood of investment losses. We had investors who were willing to ensure that the production of sugar is cheap in Kenya, but they were locked out because of the so-called entrance fees whereby officials who are supposed to ensure investment is sugar create bottlenecks to make themselves indispensable. That is gatekeeping, if I may call it that. 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."
}