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{
"id": 1164272,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1164272/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherargei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13217,
"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
"slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.47 (1) to make a Statement on an issue of general topical concern and national importance, namely; the high cost of food, living and firm inputs in Kenya. Recent surveys indicate that up to 67 per cent of Kenyans believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. It has also been noted with great concern that the rising cost of food, living and other basic commodities has led to a sharp rise in the cost of living in the country. According to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), food prices rose by 8.89 per cent in January 2022, making it difficult for millions of Kenyans to put the food on the table. For example, a two-kilogram packet of maize flour is now retailing at Kshs120, a rise of Kshs15 from Kshs105. While a kilo of sugar is retailing at Kshs140 in major supermarkets in the country, rising from Kshs120 kilogramme of sugar. A 500-milliliter packet of milk is retailing at between Kshs50 and Kshs60 depending on the brand in the supermarket or any shops in the country. Further, the cost of refilling a six kilogram of liquefied petroleum gas or LPG cylinder has risen to Kshs1200 up from Kshs950. Cooking oil has also doubled in price, retailing at Kshs360 per kilo for most brands, while the cost of a loaf of bread has risen by a significant margin up from Kshs50 to Kshs80 across our shops. For the first time, the price of salt has risen also by Kshs5. We have been buying salt at Kshs10, which now retails at Kshs15. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with respect to firm inputs a 50-kilogramme bag of fertilizer, be it Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) but not the DAP party that everybody knows or Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN), is now retailing at Kshs6000 from Kshs2500, making it almost impossible for farms to purchase. You are aware that in Elgeyo Marakwet, Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, where you come from, is a planting season and farmers are busy preparing their farms, yet fertilizers have shot up from Kshs2500 to Kshs6000. There is no Government subsidy and yet the planting season is fast approaching. The cost of fuel has also gone up. The price of farming or ploughing farms is very expensive per hectare. It will be very difficult for our country to be food secure. When we have food insecurity, national security is also a threat. If this is the direction we are taking, then it is very dangerous. Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally, I urge our colleagues in the National Assembly to support the proposed amendment by Members of Kenya Kwanza. This is to provide additional Kshs2billion in the 2022/2023 Budget, which is required for drought mitigation, and an additional Kshs5 billion for fertilizer subsidies programme to bring the fertilizer prices down to about Kshs2500."
}