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{
    "id": 1278458,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1278458/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 177,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Four, is the promotion of food and feed safety which I do not want to over-emphasise. Five, is the promotion of fair-trade practices in the conduct of food and feed businesses. As I mentioned, the largest culprits are the producers of livestock feeds. Hon. Agnes Pareiyo will tell you because she comes from a livestock rearing community in Narok North. That, very innocent pastoralists farmers are made to buy feeds produced by business people who engage in very unfair trade practices. Therefore, there are no standards as to the level of nutrients whether; vitamins, calcium, protein and carbohydrates put in feeds. Since nobody is regulating them, their feeds are full of carbohydrates and proteins with no vitamins or mineral content. The traders are allowed to market these feeds to gullible farmers in our rural areas because of the unfair trade practices. The farmers innocently buy the feeds believing they will allow their animals to gain weight and produce more milk and beef products. But woe unto them, they end up spending a lot of money without any meaningful input in the animal health or increasing productivity. This Government has purposed to ensure we increase productivity and not just of the food we are producing. That is why you have seen the President over-emphasise on the need to use fertilisers. I am glad that as from last week, the Government reduced the cost of our subsidised fertiliser sold to our farmers from Ksh7,000 that was there before the elections to Ksh3,500. Last week, the President announced that our subsidised fertiliser will go at a price of Ksh2,500 all in an effort to increase food productivity all over the country. The same goes to increase productivity of our livestock farmers. It ensures that they can feed their animals so that they gain weight for sale. For the dairy cows, the feeds enable them to produce more milk. This can only be possible if we put in place a system where the Office of Food and Feed Safety Controller assures farmers that the feeds they buy for their dairy cattle will increase productivity of their animals. That way, a little bit more money will find its way in people’s pockets. We promised during campaigns that ours would be pesa mfukoni or putting more money in the pockets of our farmers; both pastoralists and crop farmers. Hon. Speaker, lastly, is to increase efficiency in the performance of official control. Myriad agencies and authorities that have been regulating our feed and food safety have not been efficient right from production to consumption. With the enactment of this Bill, there will be greater efficiency. The Office of Food and Feed Safety Controller, cited in Clause 6 of the Bill, will be established as a body corporate and a State office as defined under Article 260(q) of the Constitution. The Bill further provides that county governments shall perform certain functions with respect to food and feed safety. It is important to distinguish the roles of the two levels of government. Therefore, the Bill lists the following as functions of county governments: (a) Implement and enforce food safety and feed safety measures. (b) License and exercise official control of persons who conduct food business and feed business. The Committee noted, during its deliberations and scrutiny of the Bill as well as during engagements with stakeholders, that there are many people who produce food in their backyards without license. Others produce animal feeds in their farms without license too. Therefore, nobody really knows the ingredients these people use. Many others import ingredients such as mineral nutrients that are banned in the countries of origin. The banned substances are shipped into our country and incorporated into feeds for our livestock. (c) Conduct capacity building on food and feed safety. County governments have agricultural extension officers who will enhance capacity building on food and feed safety with our farmers and consumers back in our constituencies and backyards. (d) Conduct public awareness on matters food and feed safety. (e) Prepare county food and feed safety reports. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}