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{
    "id": 1379764,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1379764/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 160,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kisii County, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Dorice Donya",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also thank the Mover of this Bill. It has taken me back to my high school days, when we were taught the definition of agriculture as the science or practice of farming, which includes cultivating the soil for growing crops and rearing animals. I remember I asked my teacher what else we could do with animals apart from eating them. When you are a new student, you do not have information. The teacher gave me an example of sheep, which has wool used for making clothes. As we proceeded with agriculture in class, we learned about cash crops in Kenya. We mentioned sisal, which we do not have in Kisii County. We used to grow pyrethrum in some areas, which paid for the school expenses for most of us. There is also tea, wheat, and cotton, which we are discussing now. We should also not forget coffee. The sweetest one was from Kisii land. If we look back at what ails our land, it is stopping the use of agricultural research centres. Why did they die? One of the factors is that there is no infrastructure. We have the answers to all these questions. Infrastructure led to their fall. As I went through my notes, I read about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) centre in Washington, D.C. It has employed very many people and contributes to the economy of the USA. If we improve our research centres, over 40,000 people will be employed. The agricultural research centres will give answers on how we can improve our cotton and offer training. I can remind Members like my colleague, Hon. Lillian Siyoi, that we learned about soil pH. Farmers do not have this basic education. These are some of the things that ail our agriculture sector. There is also crop rotation. This discussion reminds me of the agriculture lessons. Let me rejoice and talk about them. We rarely do crop rotation. We were even told to stop planting sugarcane, coffee, and pyrethrum because they take over 18 months to mature. We were told to start planting crops like potatoes, which take three to four months to mature. In the process of planting crops that take a short time to grow, we killed the coffee and cotton industries. We forgot that the most lucrative cash crop is cotton. We cannot afford cotton T- shirts even during campaigns. We go for the cheap ones. That means cotton is lucrative. We support this Bill by Hon. Emaase. We should also bring back the glory of those days of planting wheat, tea and sugarcane. As we improve the cotton sector, we should look at the quality of the cotton we plant. This is because we can have a scenario where consumers in our country do not embrace it, and then we start importing it, which kills the farmers. What has killed sugarcane farming in Kenya is the fact that farmers bear a lot of costs during production. In the sixth month of growing sugarcane, we import a lot of cheap sugar. Therefore, it becomes a loss to farmers during the harvesting of their sugarcane. We should rethink how to protect farmers. We should avoid a lot of talking and instead concentrate on actions. Whatever we say on the Floor of this House should make more sense to those who are listening to us. That is why it is called a hallowed House. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}