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{
"id": 1042282,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1042282/?format=api",
"text_counter": 62,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
"speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
"speaker": {
"id": 129,
"legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
"slug": "james-orengo"
},
"content": "On that trip, I remember a Member of Parliament out of kindness of heart told the people in Mumias that farmers should get higher prices for maize. In Mumias, if you talk about increasing the prices of maize, that would mean that they will pay more for maize or maize flour. They were not quite happy with that. Sometimes, these messages, depending on where you are, can be quite mixed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think the primary person to support is the farmer. I want to repeat this because we have many players in the tea industry. However, we have to protect the farmer. In the many times I have gone to central province, Mount Kenya areas, Kericho, Limuru and other areas, the plight of the farmers has always been the primary concern. This is because, in the legacy and the structures that we had before, it would appear that farmers were just beasts of burden. You produce a crop, you get little for it, but other brokers and middlemen make a lot of money out of it. For all of us, in looking at this Bill, I pray to you, think of the farmer first. If you think of anybody else, imagine there was no tea to sell in Kenya. Imagine if farmers get frustrated and they started uprooting their tea,would you be talking about auctioneers or brokers or packers? The primary concern should be with the farmer. I want to say this, that, we should not be scared even if Kenya overproduces tea. In Brazil, one of the things that they do, they all the time have an oversupply of coffee and they release it depending on the prices, but they keep their quota. If the farmer is not able to produce enough so that Kenya can keep its quota, then everything else that we are doing can go to note. Even with the oil producers, the starting point is to protect the oil producer, be it a nation or a state, you start with a producer. I plead because it is going to come to you. I know one of these days I will be asking for support for those who grow sugarcane to support the sugarcane farmer. Before you come before the mill, the packer and the person who owns a warehouse, if you turn it, the priority on its head and begin to support their warehouse owner or the packer, more than the farmer, it will be very terrible for us. In the past when I used to live in Kericho, you could see all those African Highlands with very big signboards, for example, Brooke Bond. However, when you go to those farms, the way they were making sure that they get the profit, the terms and conditions of the employees and how they were looked after; their care and welfare, was zero. However, when the ordinary farmer in Kipsigis started growing his own tea, you could see a little difference. By the way, the best tea does not necessarily come from the large-scale owners. Some of the best tea comes from the simple farmer with five or 10 acres. This is the person we want to protect in this Bill. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I know there are many problems in the amendments that have been brought by the National Assembly more particularly, I wanted to talk about the new impositions that have been placed against the players in the tea industry. If you have the amended Bill from the National Assembly, they are found from Clause 24D or even 24B. Clause 24D is requiring registration of a warehouse operator. What is wrong with"
}