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{
    "id": 1097119,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1097119/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 632,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Wajir North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ibrahim Ahmed",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13505,
        "legal_name": "Ahmed Abdisalan Ibrahim",
        "slug": "ahmed-abdisalan-ibrahim"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I also join my colleagues in supporting the Bill. First and foremost, we are in a very difficult period of drought. This drought would not have been realised had we used the skills of irrigation effectively, especially in the arid and semi-arid counties. You realise that we receive lots of rainfall during the rainy season but then storage of the rain water is always a problem. As a result of that, there is now a high mortality rate of livestock. As we are speaking, we are already at the alert level of the drought. I think this would not have happened had we put in place an effective irrigation system in this country. There is perennial food shortage in this country, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas. Of course, one of the agenda in the Big Four Agenda is food security and nutrition. However, the necessary actions have not been put in place to ensure that food insecurity in this country is minimised. Indeed, if we had water pans and big dams in the arid and semi-arid parts of this country, I have no doubt, we would reduce food insecurity and improve the nutrition status of both the aged and the young ones. As we speak, the malnutrition level in the arid and semi-arid parts is very high. There is acute water shortage. In fact, they only depend on milk because food production is low. The milk is not there now because of the existing drought. As a result, there is malnutrition. I am sure if we had good policies and a multi-agency or multi-sectoral approach in the way we conduct issues, no doubt, this problem would not be there. That notwithstanding, in our budget-making, we also have very big gaps. Indeed, it is important that in the Budget we allocate money for dam construction and small-scale irrigation in the northern parts of this country. This has not been happening. We have struggled to get few pans. Let me congratulate the National Irrigation Board. At least they have tried their best to ensure that pans are done in parts of this country, including my own constituency. I have no doubt the horticulture that is produced as a result of those small pans has improved nutrition, especially in the most remote parts of this country. 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."
}