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{
    "id": 1371217,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1371217/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 210,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Chute",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13583,
        "legal_name": "Chute Mohamed Said",
        "slug": "chute-mohamed-said"
    },
    "content": "coffee. They do not take tea that much. They take coffee. That by itself is helping the country to cultivate and produce more coffee. As Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale has said, Kenya is in position 16 in the world, while Ethiopia is in position six, followed by Uganda in position eight. If we manage our agriculture sector well, I am sure we are going to do better than our current position, position 16. Mr. Speaker, Sir, coffee is planted and consumed worldwide. Today, if you look at the varieties of coffee, Arabica Coffee is mainly cultivated in Latin America, while Robusta is predominantly in Africa. If we look at production of coffee today, the best you can do is 2,300 kilogrammes to 3,000 kilogrammes per hectare. Today, coffee is the most beloved beverage that is consumed worldwide. The problem Kenya is facing today is the cost of production. This Bill should address the cost of producing coffee per kilogramme. Initially, when we were in school, coffee production was about Kshs30 to Kshs40 per kilogramme. Today, it is from Kshs80 to Kshs100 shillings per kilogramme. This Bill should also address the problem of pricing of coffee. After the farmers in Kenya have cultivated the coffee and done the hardest work producing that coffee, they only get to know the price of the coffee after the produce has been sold. That is the time they will know the price they have gotten for their coffee. In fact, the farmers lose control of their produce after it has gone for milling. Once it leaves your farm, you have no control over it anymore. Sadly, it is managed by people who do not even cultivate coffee. We must have a solution for our coffee cultivation. The first solution is to reserve a price. The Government should establish a reserve price; that the price of coffee or any agricultural produce should not go below this much. Number two, the Government should establish funds to cushion the farmers in case any farmer loses the price they wanted. The other issue is prompt payment. After they have sold their produce, many farmers, even tea and sugarcane farmers, have to wait for payment for even up to two years. That must change. The other important issue is to recommend direct sales to farmers, so that a farmer can sell his produce direct to wherever he wants, anywhere in this world. In addition, payment should be done in US dollars because coffee is mainly exported to Europe or Asia. Another issue is branding of our coffee. The Government should support our farmers to brand their produce as a product of Kenya after marketing it and doing the necessary packing, so that the farmer can reap the maximum profit out of his produce. The Government has research stations in this country. Therefore, I do not know why they cannot upgrade cultivation of coffee in Kenya by extending research officers to other counties, mainly those counties bordering Ethiopia, which is one of the counties I come from. Agriculture is a devolved function. It would be prudent for this Government to release funds to the devolved functions instead of having it in law. They have it in law"
}