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{
    "id": 142387,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/142387/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 365,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I am just half-way, so my colleagues should hold their horses. That money is peanuts and we want the Government to take the livelihood of farmers seriously. In the Ministry of Agriculture, when there is anything to do with sugar or maize, the Government moves with speed to mitigate the problem of those farmers. What is wrong with livestock farmers? You have heard that Kshs40 billion will be written off for sugar farmers. Why can they not write off Kshs500 million owed by livestock farmers to the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC)? We want the Government to know that livestock farmers have no money and no more cattle to sell in order to pay that money. So, it is up to the Government to ensure that the livestock farmers are given that consideration when it comes to relief in payment of AFC loans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I belong to this Government but when you look at the Ministry of Regional Development Authorities and that of Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands, a parastatal like Ewaso Nyiro South and Ewaso Nyiro North are Authorities which should have been placed under the Ministry of Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands. That is the only way you can co-ordinate and support the areas which are under the umbrella of this Ministry. Livestock farmers in arid lands have been given a raw deal. When you look at 2004 to date, no assessment has been made on how many livestock have been lost through the cyclic perennial drought by livestock farmers. There is no data on that but you can get data on sugar or maize. That is why we need this Authority so that it can give the Government advance warning on the issue of drought. The Kshs500,000 loan which was given to the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) to support the farmers is actually finished. Thousands of farmers have taken their animals to the Athi River factory but there is no money to pay them. So, we want the Government to move with speed and give a grant to KMC to enable it mitigate the problems of livestock farmers."
}