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{
    "id": 1088276,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1088276/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 165,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ndwiga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 278,
        "legal_name": "Peter Njeru Ndwiga",
        "slug": "peter-ndwiga"
    },
    "content": "seems to be very confused in this matter. The right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. The President appointed a taskforce which was converted to an implementation committee. Madam Deputy Speaker, however, the CS of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries does not seem to recognize that this Commission exists. As a Committee, we have worked very closely with the Commission. They went round the country and that is why we did not bother to also go round the country collecting views. Most of those views which are in the regulations which we passed in this House came from farmers and stakeholders in the coffee sector. The other issue that we are hearing is that there is an attempt also to introduce regulations through the Ministry where coffee cooperative societies could decide that they want a coffee factory could decide to move out of the cooperative. The essence of cooperative societies is to make sure that people are together and produce together and economies of scale are realized. This is when people are together in big numbers. Madam Deputy Speaker, this issue is not acceptable. Those of us who know how the beginning of the coffee declined in this country started from those ideas. Those ideas, I know and bet that they are not emanating from the Ministry. I know all the cartels who have been involved in the coffee business. That is the route that they would want to go. Madam Deputy Speaker, that is the route they want to go such that you will find a coffee factory which produces less than 3,000 kilogrammes of coffee, has nine members. The farmers get nothing because the expenses are high. On the other hand, they have to maintain nine coffee members, a secretary and a manager, pay for licence and so on. We will resist that. I am happy there are Members of this House who know – I see Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri agreeing with me – where we started losing in the coffee sector. The coffee wars in Nyeri and other places all emanated from this kind of ideas. These are dangerous ideas that cannot and should not be entertained at all. Let me conclude because I want other Members to contribute to this Bill. I wish to assure Kenyan farmers that through this Bill, we have captured what ails the coffee industry and we want to deal from the marketing side. We hope that the Government will keep its promise to assist farmers in updating the coffee factories in this country with the new and up to date pulping systems, drying pens and so on. I hope when and if that happens, the coffee industry will get back to its former glory. Madam Deputy Speaker, I know I will be back here after Members contributed. At this juncture, I beg to move that the Coffee Bill be read a Second Time and ask Sen. Murkomen to second."
}