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{
    "id": 142564,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/142564/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 92,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 185,
        "legal_name": "Danson Buya Mungatana",
        "slug": "danson-mungatana"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I also want to join Mr. Affey in saying that the appeal by the Prime Minister is well received and we will support him. I am on foot on that Statement because there are three aspects to it. I am quoting Prof. Namanga Ngongi who is the President of the Alliance for Greener Revolution in Africa which was started by Dr. Kofi Annan. They are saying that the problem in Africa as far as food production is concerned is not lack of technology but national governments have failed to invest enough in basic programmes that will turn small holder farming into viable economic enterprises. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you look at where the country is in right now, even when you look at the current Budget, the Ministry of Agriculture which controls these basic programmes has been given less than 4 per cent of the national Budget. I am being given the actual figures to be 3.5 per cent. These basic programmes include things like grain storage, building feeder roads, improving extension services, training farmers and other programmes that the Ministry of Agriculture needs in order to increase productivity with our farmers and therefore the food. The clarification that I seek from the Prime Minister and the Government as a whole, is what it is that he is doing with his Government to ensure that the pledge they made in Abuja in 1987, to increase the budget to the Ministry of Agriculture to 10 per cent of the national Budget. What is he doing? It is good to say the intentions but we must put our statement of intention back to its foot with facts and money. Malawi doubled its allocation to agriculture and within one year, it changed from being a food net importer to a food net exporter. What is the Prime Minister doing to increase our national budget in agriculture?"
}