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{
    "id": 1185884,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1185884/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I consider sugarcane as a poor man’s crop. I will be a happy man the day farmers in Kenya, and particularly in Kisumu, will move away from sugarcane planting. Why am I saying that? Although I support the Statement by the distinguished Senator for Kisumu, we have a big challenge in this country. This is why I want to challenge the Committee. In as far as my colleague has requested for about five issues to be looked into, I want to further request the committee to extend by finding out whether we have done enough research on how we can utilize everything in the sugarcane industry. Firstly, we have the bagasse. In this country, we have never found a way of utilizing all the different products that we can get from the bagasse like building materials. That is what will help the sugarcane industry to thrive. The challenge that we have now is that sugarcane is a seasonal crop. So, those factories will collapse because it is a seasonal crop. That is why I call it a lazy man’s crop. When a farmer plants sugarcane, they wait for 18 months before the sugarcane can be crashed. When it comes to crashing sugarcane, we have got the same problem in Narok. I hope when the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries investigates issues raised by my colleague, they will extend to Narok County because it affects the entire sugar belt. If we move away from sugarcane and start coal production, we can produce enough animal feeds for our country. In that case, a farmer will not have to wait for 18 months before their sugarcane to be crashed. We are using old technology to crash sugarcane and the cost of production is high. Even the way we transport sugarcane is inefficient. The only way we are going to make meaningful decisions in this country and even formulate policies that will help sugarcane farmers is by agreeing to accept the fact that when it comes to the issue of Mumias Sugar Company or sugar factories in Kisumu, there is a time that equipment becomes obsolete. So, we need to remove them, adopt new technologies and also think of adding value. That is the only time we will not have this problem that my colleague, the distinguished Senator for Kisumu, is talking about here. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support."
}