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{
    "id": 1242824,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1242824/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 306,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13589,
        "legal_name": "Maanzo Daniel Kitonga",
        "slug": "maanzo-daniel-kitonga"
    },
    "content": "Tanzania. Therefore, Tanzanians end up with a lot of cotton which they sell in the world markets at best prices because their government is involved by helping the farmers. We need to come up with a solution by ensuring that the proposed board is devolved. Are we really going to have a national board? If that is the case, how are we going to appoint the members and the Chair? Are we going back to the case where the President appoints the Chair or will it be Parliament or the counties? Should the counties have their own boards? What would be the role of the Council of Governors (CoG) because this is a devolved function? Since Sen. Beth Syengo has been taking notes, I believe during the Committee of the Whole, we will have amendments originating from the committee and Members in order to make this law much better. One of the biggest problems also is competition. If competition was encouraged, it means we will have the best prices and other benefits for farmers. Allow me to give an example. In Germany, Mercedes Benz domineered and they did not allow competition from other makes such as Audi and BMW. There were cartels before one acquired a car. However, they opened the market to other competitive brands and even allowed Toyota and others to sell there. Although Mercedes Benz is a popular car followed by BMW and Audi, you will still find a Nissan or Toyota in Germany and many other parts of Europe. Therefore, growing and selling of cotton should be competitive. In Kenya, it is sold by cartels and there is only one place where you can sell. They determine the prices and exploit the farmer. Therefore, the farmer gives up and never grows cotton again. I will give another example. When I was a Members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Livestock in the National Assembly, there was a problem of tea in Meru. We went there with the then Assistant Minister for Agriculture, and Member of Parliament for Maara; Hon. Kareke Mbiuki, together with quite a number of Members. The farmers told us they had given Parliament a week, failure to which they would cut down all the tea and grow macadamia and avocado trees because they were fed up with being exploited. The way they put it, we had no choice but to help them as a House. In a week, they had money in their pockets. This is the same problem that cotton is having. The farmer ends up being exploited and feeling bad. We have many regions in the country where cotton can be grown such as Tana River. I wish Sen. Mungatana, MGH, was here but I know he is attending the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) sittings. I am sure he will be useful during the Committee of the Whole. The problem is prices. This particular plant is needed in the world. If we invested and grew it, we would increase the Gross Domestic Product (DGP) of the country. Farmers will make money and they will be taxed appropriately. They will not feel exploited and the country will grow. There has been a problem when it comes to this. When we went around and we realized there were small-holders in places like Busia. We have those with small farms while others have big farms. The smallholders need to be assured otherwise, they will prefer growing food crops such as maize."
}