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{
    "id": 1263077,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1263077/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 226,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13589,
        "legal_name": "Maanzo Daniel Kitonga",
        "slug": "maanzo-daniel-kitonga"
    },
    "content": "With the framework which has been provided and the regulations which will be made thereunder, I believe that it is doable and Kenyans are going to plant this important crop in as many parts of the country as possible. I challenge the national Government because it has a role to play by providing infrastructure in terms of extra warehousing now that we have a housing law, storage, marketing strategies and most importantly, funding the counties. It should devolve agriculture to make sure that by the time rains set we are ready being an agricultural country. Having an agriculture-based economy, we have to utilize every plant that we grow in this country with a lot of wisdom to ensure that we have the best seedlings and that the plants are suited for the climate. One of the areas to learn from is Israel’s experience where they grow crops through irrigation. We should move away from rain-fed to irrigation agriculture. It will take time before we get there because the construction of Thwake Dam that will supply water to Kitui, Makueni, Kajiado and Machakos counties is still under construction. I am happy to report that the works resumed after about three weeks because an amount of Kshs5 billion had been removed from the budget. After a serious fight with the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, and the National Treasury, the money was taken back and the young men who had been laid off are back to work. Once the dam is completed, we will do irrigation. Even when the rains fail, now that we are in the era of climate change, mung beans will still be irrigated and the best out of that product will be realized. I want to laud the Senator for Kitui and assure him of our support. When they did public participation, he got a lot of assistance from the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Sen. Beth Syengo who is nominated. The product is grown a lot where she originally came from. We encourage Kenyans in all the counties where mung beans are grown to come up. Farmers should know that this is a good product. Now that there will be a legal framework, they should grow it. More importantly, I encourage the national and county governments to do their duty to help the farmers. We look forward to the passing of the Bill on agricultural extension officers, so that we have knowledgeable officers who know how best to deal with legumes so that we get the best. We have other legumes which are popular there. They include beans, cowpeas, green peas and many others. We have the popular minji from Kirinyaga. In the other"
}