Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1353383,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1353383/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 249,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John K. Mutunga",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We need to focus a lot more on reducing the cost of production. Today, we are doing a little bit on soil health. We are trying to do something about the provision of water. We have done something about good quality seed. Those three factors determine what you can get from farming processes. The factors are quality seed, soil health and water provision. We are complaining and lamenting because of the El Nino rains. Kenya would be another well-watered country if we had structures to contain this water in this country. We have not invested in that direction. We need to do that. We shall increase production and productivity, feed our people effectively and contain the losses from the importation of food the moment we do that. We shall not lose our foreign exchange in that respect. We need to focus a lot more on organising our farmers. Smallholder farmers are scattered across the landscape of this country. They have not invested in storage facilities. We need to focus on investing in storage facilities and aggregation. The more we aggregate, the more we realise the potential for industrialisation. The Government's focus on industrial parks is a move in the right direction. We will soon realise the potential we have. But we have to be very careful not to allow middlemen alone to use these industrial parks or the storage capacity the Government is creating. We shall perpetuate the middlemen aspect instead of supporting those who are in production. We need to reduce imports of oil crops or oil products because we have the capacity to produce oil in this country. Kenya has a great potential to produce edible oil. At the moment, we produce these crops and the waste material goes to manufacturing livestock feed. That reduces importation and, therefore, the use of hard currency. We, as a country, have options that we can take. Focus on agriculture is key. It has built many countries, not just Kenya. Let us put more money into agriculture and we shall build this country out of the trouble it is in and contain a growth path that is sustainable and reliable. With those remarks, I support."
}