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"id": 1236880,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1236880/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Musalia Mudavadi",
"speaker_title": "The Prime Cabinet Secretary",
"speaker": {
"id": 84,
"legal_name": "Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi",
"slug": "musalia-mudavadi"
},
"content": "The other intervention from the Government is the provision of duty waivers on food imports. To bridge the food stocks deficit and stabilise the high food commodity prices, the Government has granted duty waiver for importation of 1.4 million metric tonnes of white maize, 600,000 metric tonnes of rice, 500,000 metric tonnes of yellow maize— largely to be used for production of animal feed— 200,000 metric tonnes of soya beans, 300,000 metric tonnes of soya bean meal, 1,600 tonnes of assorted protein concentrate and 40,000 metric tonnes of feed additives effective from 1st February to 6th August 2023. You will note that this programme is being put in place to end before the Kenyan farmers’ harvest season begins. The duty-free maize imports will temporarily reduce the high cost of maize and flour for consumer benefit in the short-term. However, the cost of food will be dictated by supply and demand which is the key focus of the Kenya Kwanza Government. We will also engage in active post-harvest management programme. It is estimated that Kenyan farmers lose about 30 per cent of their crops. We will put more effort in this area. We will also support the farmers by ensuring enhanced pest control and aflatoxin efforts to eliminate the danger of our foods being contaminated. We also intend to promote drought- tolerant crops. In the current year, over 250 metric tonnes of assorted drought tolerant seeds valued at Ksh50 million have been distributed in Embu, Meru, Makueni, Machakos, Tharaka Nithi, Murang’a, Nyeri, Siaya and Busia counties. These being basic seeds, it is expected that farmers will multiply and redistribute the seeds in their localities, thus addressing the challenge of seed access and food insecurity."
}