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{
    "id": 1242835,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1242835/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 317,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13588,
        "legal_name": "Osotsi Godfrey Otieno",
        "slug": "osotsi-godfrey-otieno"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity to contribute to this important Bill. I thank the sponsor of this Bill, Sen. Beth Syengo. She deserves commendation for this important initiative to try and improve the living standards of our people by providing a framework for production, marketing, farming, value addition and distribution of cotton in this country. From the onset, I support this Bill. It is high time this country focused on bringing back the country to the position it had in the 1970s when Kenya was one of the leading cotton producers in the world. Cotton, then, supported over 200,000 households in this country. In the counties where we come from, we see many ginneries which are not being used now. When we were growing up, we saw them all over. Closing down of ginneries is a sign that the cotton industry is dead. If this Bill is well implemented, Kenya will take its position as one of the leading cotton producers in the world. Many people think that cotton is just about production of textiles. However, cotton can be used in many other ways. It is used in the health sector to manage wounds and in production of pharmaceuticals. In the fishing industry, cotton can be used in production of fish nets. It can also be used in in production of coffee filters, livestock feeds and fertilizer. The beauty industry can also use coffee in the production of soap and cosmetics. Madam Temporary Speaker, cotton can do a broad range of things that can help grow an economy. As much as we call ourselves an agricultural country, the biggest challenge we have is value addition. Madam Temporary Speaker, if we do not have value addition for our agricultural products, then we will not maximize on our investment in agriculture. I happen to have been one of the Members of the Liaison Committee, who recently travelled to Dubai. In our trip, we visited the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) equivalent of Dubai. One of the companies in the EPZ of Dubai is Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). They are doing value addition. Machinery were given by the Government of Dubai and because of that, they are able to export to several countries."
}