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{
    "id": 1119910,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1119910/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 178,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Nyamunga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 738,
        "legal_name": "Rose Nyamunga Ogendo",
        "slug": "rose-nyamunga-ogendo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to make some comments on this statement by Sen. Cherargei. First, the plight of farmers in this country is not segregated to particular areas. I think that is one thing that touches all parts of this country. Secondly, agriculture or food security is one of the Big Four Agendas of the Government. If it is one of the agendas of the Government, which is one of the things that they must fulfill before the end of the term, how come they have not put enough emphasis in helping the farmers? I wonder. Apart from just importing fertilizer, is it not possible for us to produce fertilizer locally? In the Rift Valley, I think we have what it takes for us to produce our organic fertilizer. If I can do it in a small way in my village, I think the Government should galvanize all the waste from our animals, be it pigs or cows, and have proper organic fertilizer for our farmers. Thirdly, it is not only about the price of fertilizer, but also the quality. For a long time, we have been getting very bad quality. Fertilizers are not for maize, tea or coffee farmers. What about rice farmers? We are now importing rice. I can say with a lot of certainty that 85 per cent of the rice we consume in this country is imported, yet we can have rice from Mwea, Ahero and Budalangi. These are areas that can produce rice. Kenya being an agricultural country, I think this is a very timely Statement. The Government should come out clearly and tell us what they think of farmers because farming is the backbone of this country. Without feeding our people, we cannot stand anywhere and tell anybody that we are a Government. Therefore, it is important that we take issues of agriculture and more so fertilizers seriously, not only the price but also the quality."
}